SUV Named after Extinct Cattle Species

The last of the urus wild cattle died in Poland in the early 1600s. Lamborghini has resurrected the urus name for its new SUV. A CNET writer put it a little more bluntly, saying it is “named after a dead cow.”

Apparently Lamborghini noticed the Cayenne SUV was generating sales for Porsche, so they decided to enter the SUV market as well. On the face of it, deciding to design and sell an SUV might not be a bad idea. However, the announcement of the Urus 600 horsepower SUV has roughly coincided with Earth Day, making it feel a bit ill-timed and at odds with the spirit of conservation and appreciation for our planet.

To be fair, Maserati has a new SUV concept, as does Bentley. The luxury SUV market exists so the auto companies are responding, but why do people buy such vehicles which generally get poorer gas mileage and can be deadly in accidents when they impact smaller passenger vehicles? The Lamborghini Urus carbon emissions has been said to potentially be the lowest of all the luxury SUVs, but surely 600 horsepower is just a little excessive?

It isn’t entirely clear what the fuel efficiency of the Urus will be, but other Lamborghini vehicles get about 12-13 MPG in city driving. The new Porsche Cayenne gets about 15-16 MPG in city driving, and has a top speed of over 140 mph. Tesla will manufacture an SUV as well, but it will be all-electric.

About 3,000 Urus are expected to be manufactured in the first release, though they may not be available for about five years.

Image Credit: Lamborghini

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Nirvana J.

10:21PM PDT on Apr 25, 2012

Thanks. Why is this article on this site?

April 25
send a green star

Vicky P.

9:20PM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

ok..

April 24
send a green star

Gina P.

6:13PM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

I'm still stuck on Lamborghini in the same sentence as SUV!

Christina V.

5:37PM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

I wonder how long it'll take before the SUV's become extinct! Bet it's quicker than the poor urus! Tragic really what some people think they need to be noticed.....they certainly aren't respected though.

Ron B.

5:00PM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

It ought to be named the Lamborghini WTF. I mean, Lamborghini of all companies is now making an SUV?? And then Maserati and Bentley may follow suit? Gotta keep the 1% wallowing in their expensive toys apparently.

Duane B.

2:43PM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

Thank you for sharing.

Karen F.

1:29PM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

Cars have really stupid names. would rather have the company donate money to saving cattle rather than naming a car after them, their owners probably don't care. At least Jaguar donates money to saving the species and conservation of where they live.

Teresa W.

7:09AM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

Moooo!

John B.

4:00PM PDT on Apr 23, 2012

The other name for Urus is Aurochs. Thanks for the article Jake.