Last year at the Beijing Motor Show, Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann said: “The Urus is a very concrete idea for the future of Lamborghini – as a third model line and as the perfect complement to our super sports cars.” He added, “The Urus is the most extreme interpretation of the SUV idea; it is the Lamborghini of the SUVs.”

Finally the Lamborghini Urus SUV has been confirmed for production, with an expected market launch in 2017. The announcement was made by Audi chief Rupert Stadler during the Lamborghini’s anniversary tour.

The new model would be based on the same MLB platform as the next-generation Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, with tons of aluminium and carbon fibre as the Aventador.

The concept model had a 600 hp engine linked to a dual clutch gearbox and a permanent all-wheel drive system. The production version is rumoured to use a 4.0-litre V8 paired with electric motors to produce around 650bhp. A second powertrain is also rumoured.

This new high-performance SUV is expected to start at around £140,000.