GTP Cool Wall: Lamborghini LM002

[buickgnx88]

Looks are subjective. Personally, I love the look of the thing. Plus, how do you know it doesn't perform well?

 

[TheCracker]

oh, big man. 👎

Couldn't help the dig at a fellow Yorkshireman even if you are from the wrong part of it.

Just because it has a Lambo badge doesn't make it cool. This car has mega-fail written all over it. It looks crap, it has no practical or functional purpose to speak of and by the sounds of it, the manufacturer wasn't overly enamoured with it. It probably can't do 'off-road' either.

Being objective about it, it doesn't stand up against any Land/Range Rover, or the Bowler for looks or function. It doesn't perform particularly well and the original client washed their hands of it.

How is it cool?

• Of course the Lambo badge doesn't make it cool. It doesn't make any of their other cars cool either, at least anything from 1990 onwards.

• Again, looks are subjective.

• It has the function and practicality of being able to more than competently carry people over rough terrain and soft sand dunes both inside and outside the vehicle.

• The Bowler is a competition vehicle. What has it got to do with the LM002?

 

[Joey D]

It probably can't do 'off-road' either.

It was used by the military and participated in a few big rally's, it can go off road.

 

[McLaren]

I think it's quite hilarious you keep bringing the Bowler up as a comparable vehicle, considering it wasn't originally built to have any kind of street legal function.

As for the LM002's capability, it's not going to be better than a Land Rover, but it'll certainly leave any other SUV stuck in a pond while it keeps on going.

 

[eight6er]

I remember seeing a magazine article about these years ago, they had two lamborgini motorbikes in the same article. I can't remember what they wrote, but I remember thinking it was cool.

 

[Jim Prower]

It was used by the military and participated in a few big rally's, it can go off road.

Not with that V12, At least, for the military. in fact, the Cheetah and LM001 programs (with rear-mounted Chrysler/AMC V8s) were practically failures. As well, the Paris-Dakar effort ran out of money before it could participate. Ran a far shorter regional rally instead.

I can't see an Italian V12 holding up to severe offroad use without major modification. I wonder if most of the money was spent on making that mill more durable.

Pound for pound, a GM 572 crate engine would be more suitable for anyone who actually runs one on trails.

 

[Joey D]

Not with that V12, At least, for the military. in fact, the Cheetah and LM001 programs (with rear-mounted Chrysler/AMC V8s) were practically failures. As well, the Paris-Dakar effort ran out of money before it could participate. Ran a far shorter regional rally instead.

I can't see an Italian V12 holding up to severe offroad use without major modification. I wonder if most of the money was spent on making that mill more durable.

Pound for pound, a GM 572 crate engine would be more suitable for anyone who actually runs one on trails.

Apparently Libya and Saudi Arabia ordered a stripped down version of the LM002 for their militaries.

And yes the Paris Dakar programme failed but the LM002 still ran the Rallye des Pharaons and a couple of other rallies apparently.

 

[niky]

How is it cool?

Answer:

It looks crap, it has no practical or functional purpose to speak of.

That's cool. It doesn't look like crap. It looks like military-grade car-porn. Completely un-design and intimidation-before-function

Being objective about it, it doesn't stand up against any Land/Range Rover, or the Bowler for looks or function. It doesn't perform particularly well and the original client washed their hands of it.

It's been answered... it performs pretty well for what it's meant to do.

And functional=/=cool. Though some may argue that the LM002 is pretty functional.

But let's break down why it's cool:

It's got a V12 gasoline engine... which is not such a big thing (and before anyone goes on about fuel economy, the Hummer H1 is actually just as bad... these are both military trucks!), what is a big thing is that it's a triple-carbureted V12.

A more finicky, difficult-to-maintain motor there isn't. Which is why many militaries (except those owned by extremely wealthy Arabs) decided not to take it on...

And yet... a carbureted V12. Think about that for a minute. Where other military machines will sound like tractors, or buzz with the annoying whine of jet turbines drinking down bunker fuel or lard... the LM002 will be singing like a Ferrari... or even... a Lamborghini.




It's an off-roader with a suspension and silly-expensive bespoke tires designed to keep this huge monstrosity sunny-side-up while bombing down the desert at high speed, and with a huge, nearly 300 liter fuel tank (so it's 10 liters short... piddling difference) to allow you to do that for hours on end. And you'll want to do it for hours on end just to hear it sing. You can't say the same thing about a Hummer, or a diesel Land Rover, or a whiny, turbocharged Cayenne.

And they're rare enough that you don't see Guidos in goldchains driving them around every street corner

 

[TheCracker]

These days luxury performance SUV's are commonplace. V12 Q7's, Supercharged V8 Range Rovers, Cayenne Turbo S's ML63 Merc's are not unusual. Back when the LM002 came out in the early 80's, all we had were Ranger Rovers (158 bhp) and Mercedes G-Wagens (156 bhp) The V8 Land Rover had 91 bhp and the top Jeep Cherokee had 173 bhp. The LM002 had 450bhp. At the time there was absolutely nothing like it. That's why it's cool.

 

[-ultraflow-]

cool 👍

 

[Jim Prower]

It's got a V12 gasoline engine... which is not such a big thing (and before anyone goes on about fuel economy, the Hummer H1 is actually just as bad... these are both military trucks!), what is a big thing is that it's a triple-carbureted V12.

A more finicky, difficult-to-maintain motor there isn't. Which is why many militaries (except those owned by extremely wealthy Arabs) decided not to take it on...

And yet... a carbureted V12. Think about that for a minute. Where other military machines will sound like tractors, or buzz with the annoying whine of jet turbines drinking down bunker fuel or lard... the LM002 will be singing like a Ferrari... or even... a Lamborghini.

And, there's the weak point. That engine.

I'm personally not plussed about the Arabs buying them for military purposes. Only would make them easier to defeat. It's not cool to get shot up while sitting on the side of the road, your carbureted V12 refusing to turn over. I'd be willing to bet the Mil-spec version had a diesel, but I could be wrong.

However, as a civilian off-road vehicle, for someone who actually uses it as the chassis was intended, that engine again becomes the weakest link. Seriously - say an owner decides one day to get his redneck on and head out to the local Muddin' hole. Not only does he get lots of dirty looks from guys in their K5 blazers and '79 F-150s, when he attempts to match them and head into the pit, that finicky little...erm...actually, it's not very small...engine could very possibly have a complete conniption fit. and then, as he's being pulled out, everyone's laughing at him. You could replace this with rock trails and Jeeps, or dunes and buggies. It's hard to get a Lamborghini mechanic out in the middle of no-where.

The other thing is to get any decent torque, I imagine you'd really have to rev that engine. Granted, I could be wrong, but it IS a sports car engine, and it still makes well over 400HP...and is carbureted and from the '80s. and revs do significantly shorten the life of engines.

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree, here, but my idea of the perfect road-legal off road machine would be this...

Though the closest production vehicle we get is this.

So, pah, I guess I just don't get it. Especially when the Hummer H1 is commonly referred to as...ehrm..."Genital Enlargement," and is arguably better at the rough stuff.

 

[TrievelA7X]

I think it's stupid.
It most likely sucks at everything, performance is comparable, if not worse than a standard family car, it's ugly.... Even dumber than a 4-door Porsche. And a Porsche SUV.