Urus predicted to double Lamborghini's annual UK sales to 700

Accommodating the Urus has already involved unprecedented expansion, Domenicali said. Lamborghini’s sales volume last year set a record with just over 3800 cars sold, but with the Urus set to be in the range for only half of 2018, this year’s figure is only expected to be about 5000 units. Sales should top 7000 next year, however, with the new SUV expected to account for around half the cars built by Lamborghini.

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Last year, around 10% of sales, or 353 cars, were in the UK, which made this market Lamborghini’s third largest after the US (1095) and Japan (411). But with an SUV on offer, Domenicali believes this hierarchy could change. The Urus will give Lamborghini better chances in markets such as Russia and India, where road conditions don’t suit the firm’s current models. Lamborghini is seeing growing demand from China and other regional Asian markets, too, although Domenicali isn’t expecting much demand from China for chauffeur-driven Lambos. Asian customers have so far been very young, typically aged between 30 and 45, and there is a growing trend for them to drive themselves.

Lamborghini wants to expand its model count beyond the Aventador, Huracán and Urus. Ferrari’s output is around 9000 cars per year, while Aston Martin is aiming for 12,500 per year once production of its DBX electric SUV (which is expected to be called the Varekai) begins.

“Lamborghini must be flexible enough not to lose this new opportunity to grow,” said Domenicali. “But it must grow in a stable way, consistent with our exclusive brand values. It is easy to grab opportunities to expand, but much more difficult to get smaller again, if that became necessary.”

Developments such as a high-performance SV model, a Lamborghini tradition, are “a possibility”, but Domenicali has been reluctant to say any Urus needs more than the standard car’s 641bhp.

Lamborghini will not launch a fourth model line “until at least 2024”, said Domenicali, adding that Lamborghini already has plenty on its plate besides the Urus. He has previously revealed that successors for the current mid-engined Aventador V12 and Huracán V10 models — under development now — will be plug-in hybrids (“a full electric solution will not be in place”), and that these cars will keep the big-capacity, normally aspirated engines that are becoming an increasingly exclusive Lamborghini feature.