Lamborghini SUV Confirmed

Whispers, rumors, denials--the idea of a new Lamborghini SUV heading to production has run the gamut of online coverage. Earlier this week, we got a few dubious images from a magazine page touting a new concept version of a Lamborghini SUV coming to Beijing. Today, an Audi manager has confirmed the Lamborghini SUV."I can't comment in detail but the speculation in the press is largely correct," the source told Automotive News (sub. req.).An image scanned from an Italian magazine previews the general style of the vehicle.Lamborghini's chief Stephan Winkelmann has said a four-door model would fit with Lamborghini's direction. Looking at corporate cousin Porsche also points up the sales and profit potential in delving into the SUV realm: the Cayenne is a hit, despite its naysayers. The new Lamborghini SUV could share its underpinnings with the Cayenne--or perhaps the next-generation model. Power could come from a range of possible engines, though the Gallardo's V-10 engine, tuned as hot as 575 horsepower, is perhaps the most intriguing--excepting the possibility of a 700-horsepower hybrid version.Unlike Lamborghini's first SUV, the LM002, which evolved out of a project to build a military vehicle for the U.S., the new SUV would be focused on luxury and sporty on-road behavior to suit the tastes of the sub-one-percenters in the U.S., Russia, China, and India.We do know that the new SUV won't be on sale before 2016, per Winkelmann. We'll have to get through the Geneva and New York auto shows first, at any rate, as the Beijing Auto Show's press days don't kick off until April 23-24.