Lamborghini Has Killed Off The 898bhp Asterion Hybrid Hypercar In Favour Of The Urus SUV

Luxury SUVs are everywhere. Porsche has the Cayenne, Bentley is introducing the Bentayga, and even Volvo has pitched the new XC90 upmarket. Manufacturers almost can’t make them quick enough, and they bring in much-needed cash by the boatload.

So when we saw the news that Lamborghini was about to ditch the Asterion to concentrate on the Urus SUV, we weren’t particularly surprised. Talking to Autocar, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said a production version of the hybrid hyper-cruiser was now unlikely.

It’s a huge shame, though. The Asterion was intended to test customers’ reactions to bringing hybrid technology to Lamborghini performance cars, and Winkelmann confirmed it was a hit:

"They told us that they were open to innovation, including hybrid technology, but only if it came with the benefit of added performance. A Lamborghini super-sports car is driven maybe 3000 miles a year, not every day, so the electrification has to offer an added intensity to justify its inclusion."

The idea was to massively undercut the likes of the McLaren P1 on price, pitching itself as more of a long-distance cruiser than track focused monster. It was bigger, roomier and would’ve been targeted at new customers who typically find Lamborghini cars too hardcore. Instead, the manufacturer is putting all of its efforts into the new luxury SUV, which is much more likely to be a sales hit.

We can only hope this is not the end of the road for the Asterion. Lamborghinis have traditionally been about bonkers performance and even more bonkers styling, but this car would’ve brought all of that into a potential daily driver. Albeit one with 898bhp…