There’s no need to get specific and embarrass anyone by naming names or mentioning Hammer pants, but suffice it to say there was a lot of wacky stuff going on in the 1980s.
Case in point: that time Lamborghini popped the 5.2-liter V12 from one of the most sought-after cars of the ‘80s, the Countach 5000 QV, into an SUV.
With a history dating back to the later ‘70s when Lambo was calling it the Cheetah and trying to market it to the U.S. military, Lamborghini’s first attempt at an off-road vehicle when through a number of updates before the Italian marque finally arrived at the LM002 model seen here.
Referred to as the “Rambo Lambo” due to its brutish appearance – and because Sylvester Stallone wound up purchasing one – the LM002 was capable of doing 0-60 in 7.7 seconds and could top out at more than 100 MPH thanks to the 48-valve engine it had purring under its hood.
Quite possibly the model that best represents Lamborghini’s Raging Bull nickname, the LM002 was able to charge at those top-of-class speeds despite having a curb weight of nearly 6,000 pounds.
“Let us introduce you to a vehicle that is to chichi off-road boutique items what the L.A. Raiders are to the Joffrey Ballet,” Car and Driver wrote in its 1987 review of the model. “Meet the Mad Max machine. Meet the closest thing to a street-legal Tiger tank known to man. Meet the Lamborghini LM002. Meet the Rambo Lambo.”
As soft on the inside as it was rugged on the outside, the LM002’s interior was trimmed with fine leather and wood and came with air conditioning and, since CDs had yet to catch on, an Alpine tape deck mounted in the roof.
Sadly, although it was designed to appeal to fans of Guccio Gucci and G.I. Joe alike, the civilian version of the LM002 was limited to a run of just 328 models before Lamborghini ultimately ceased production in 1993 – but not before notable owners from Muammar Gaddafi and Uday Hussein to Tina Turner and Mike Tyson were able to purchase one of the $120,000 SUVs.
Sold for almost three times that ($296,500) by RM Sotheby’s at Amelia Island last weekend, this particular LM002 had fewer than 800 miles on its odometer when it was delivered on a $1,600-apiece quartet of specially commissioned Pirelli-developed Scorpion tires.
Here’s hoping the new owner has plenty of gas money, and a copy of Poison’s “Greatest Hits” on cassette, handy.
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