Neubert, Hans Lamborghini LM 002 from the ex-model
23.04.2012
Before the L amborghini LM 002 we are all afraid. Hand on heart: the men too. Even when it stands there, as a vast collection of edges, corners and bulges, it is a terrifying sight. But still drive him? Maybe even put it in your own garage? Totally unthinkable. After all, you don't jump into an active volcano voluntarily ..
Top model masters the colossus
How did a delicate woman like Jana Rybska, former Miss Czech Republic and successful model, come about? , to a Lamborghini LM 002? 'My husband gave it to me back then,' she says, as if it had been a bouquet of roses. A suspicion arises: Perhaps we did not understand the dinosaur correctly? Isn't he bad, but nice? So if we suppress the escape reflex, we approach. Lo and behold, the first misunderstanding clears up before you take a seat: The LM 002 is not completely uncontrollable.
At the driver's entrance of the Lamborghini LM 002 there is a massive, electrical central switch. Shot once and the monster is silent. Good to know, that gives you courage. Second misunderstanding: The LM 002 has the visual presence of an overseas container. In about the same shape. But that does not mean that there is a lot of air in the interior. Whoever gets in is wedged in by leather and precious wood in a wonderfully luxurious way. After all, all passengers feel the same - everyone has no place to move. Only the hand that holds the shockingly ordinary ignition key can still be moved. So just plug it in, turn it and eliminate a third misunderstanding: Just because it says Lamborghini on this car doesn't mean it has no manners.
Taurus temperament despite heavy weight
No. The supposedly capricious, nervous, evil - let's just say: Countachio-like 5.2 liter heart from the flat wing-door bolide behaves differently than expected in the Lamborghini LM 002: It behaves. Willingly twelve cylinders it starts, falls immediately into a friendly singing idle andalso turns up cold clean. The sound is muffled and more whirring than grumbling. A monster engine? More like a model engine. Another misunderstanding clears up quickly. Because the clutch pedal is not really rusted. It's just incredibly difficult. And then? Well, then the time has come. He drives, the LM 002 rolls off. Not exactly with the exuberant temperament of a Murcièlago, but for 2.7 tons of empty weight like a bull: 8.2 seconds, and it is already pushing itself through the wind at 100 km /h.
The twelve friends under the strangely shaped bonnet of the Lamborghini LM 002 do their job really well, and yet with their sensitive nature they look like they are at the wrong party in this battle vehicle. The actually full figure of 510 Newton meters is only reached at 4,500 rpm, the 450 hp even accumulate on extreme 6,800 tours. Rotating horrors like this cost some effort, especially in an off-road vehicle like the LM 002. And they also cost something else, but we'll come to the gas station topic later. The circuit is a bit cartilaginous; the adjectives exact, precise and smooth would not hit the mark. On the other hand, the steering is so easy that you involuntarily check whether the steering wheel is connected to the rest of the car.
The pedigree bull needs approximate directional recommendations
Another misunderstanding: It's not about the Lamborghini LM 002 to control. It's about giving his Pirelli Scorpion Zero with the ludicrous dimensions 345/60 R17 a few approximate recommendations for direction. Respect for these rollers, which are specially designed for desert sand, is appropriate: each piece costs 800 euros. But as if the tires had a guilty conscience because of that, they worked hard to get their paycheck: With the load index of 123, each of them can carry 1,550 kilograms. And because there is also a V behind the 123, it even goes up to 240 km /h. That is enough: the traditional top speeds range from 210 to 223 km /h. The vehicle registration only says 201 km /h.
Anyway, anything over 120 km /h is a terrible idea. After all, even at 80 it's hard to keep the edgy madness called the Lamborghini LM 002 on the road. The four scorpions roll wherever they want. The driver is best limited to checking every few minutes whether the direction they are aiming for is correct. The driver too, of course: Jana Rybska has used her LM 002 in recent years primarily as an exotic vehicle for everything to do with her holiday home on Ibiza. If she has to, or if the photographer would like it, she even sets the more than two-meter-wide piece of Italian automotive engineering two hundred meters backwards on a winding forest path into a tunnel. Any man would tap his forehead. And Jana rolls backwards through the forest, into the narrow concrete tube.
Development of the Über-SUV required a lot of patience
Apparently the Rambo Lambo doesn't need a hard man's hand. But rather a bit of female indulgence, empathy and patience. Patience was also an essential requirement in the development of the Lamborghini LM 002. It dragged on for more than 9 years, partly because Lamborghini slid through difficult economic times like a Countach on black ice. Ferrucio Lamborghini, the charismatic founder, had finally withdrawn from his company in 1973 to grow vino. The new owners, the Swiss Georges-Henri Rossetti and René Leimer, were desperately looking for fresh sources of money. It's good that the American consortium MIT was looking for a partner for the development and production of a Jeep successor. The opportunity for Lamborghini, after all, they had started as a tractor manufacturer - the development of the LM 002 was started.
At the same time, however, Lamborghini had developed the M1 together with BMW. And should then also produce it. The handling of finances, however, was slightly unsound: The money advanced by the Italian government for the production of the M1 was invested in the development of the off-road vehicle. The cooperation with BMW ended with an emergency stop, the M1 was manufactured at Baur in Stuttgart. On the other hand, Lamborghini was able to present the Cheetah at the Geneva Motor Show in 1977. The amazed trade fair visitors saw a bulky rear-engined prototype with a tubular frame chassis, fiberglass body, independent suspension and all-wheel drive. A weak Chrysler V8 with 183 hp and a three-speed automatic provided propulsion.
LM stands for Lamborghini Military
This was followed by a successful plagiarism lawsuit from a competing company because the Cheetah was clearly similar to theirs Design. There was also a devastating practical test in the California desert. After that, not only did the Cheetah end, but also Lamborghini: in 1978 bankruptcy was declared. Two years later, the wealthy French Mimran family bought the company and made their young son Patrick their boss. As early as the spring of 1981, the enhanced Cheetah was in Geneva as the Lamborghini LM 001. LM stood for Lamborghini Military, and this was still the case for the car. Biggest difference: The engine was now the V12 from the Countach, but was still in the rear.
The Lamborghini LM 001 was no more convincing than the Cheetah. So Alfieri started all over again - literally, with a front engine. To do this, he created a new chassis, installed power steering and had wider tires fitted. That resulted in the LMA 002. Attempts with other engines ranged up to a Lamborghini boat engine with a displacement of over seven liters and a torque that would have done any planet credit, but that would have made the car too heavy.
A king got the first of the exclusiveOff-road vehicle
It finally stood at the 1985 Brussels Salon: the final Lamborghini LM 002, with the four-valve engine from the Countach QV. His appearance initially sparked a real fever among the rich and famous of the world. King Hassan of Morocco got the first production vehicle, Keke Rosberg the second and Sylvester Stallone and Malcolm Forbes soon had one too. The Sultan of Brunei ordered several Lamborghini LM 002s, one with an extended, combi-like body. Everything was in the Lamborghini LM 002: electric windows, air conditioning, leather, wood, power steering, central locking, an all-wheel drive system with reduction and front wheel hubs that had to be locked by hand.
The equipment with desert air filters and the aforementioned extra-wide tires were aimed at wealthy customers in the Middle East; The Lamborghini LM 002 was ideal for hawking or quick errands in the next oasis, and even the Saudi Arabian army is said to have shown a brief interest in the LM 002. With private customers, however, enthusiasm quickly ebbed, perhaps due to a misunderstanding. Because despite the 220,000 marks that had to be put on the table at the German importer Auto-Kremer, there was no premium quality: water in the driver's footwell or electrical problems were not uncommon.
32 liters consumption per 100 kilometers
Mechanically, however, the Lamborghini LM 002 was considered reliable. And the consumption probably didn't scare any of the wealthy owners either: the factory stated 32 liters per 100 km. Some owners report 50 liters. How much exactly did not matter, with tank versions with a capacity of 180, 290 or 400 liters. Anyone who was still interested in consumption was hardly an option as a buyer. CO2 values didn't play a role yet. Jana Rybska also endures the giant's cosmic thirst with a gracious smile. The often overused tale of the fuel needle that moves as fast as the rev counter - in the LM 002 it becomes truer than in any other car.
The owner prefers to talk about the great reliability of her Lamborghini LM 002: 'It never let me down. Never.' She wants to sell the car anyway, despite the protests of her children. It is moved too seldom, it needs too much space in the big city. Too bad it would be the end of an unusual, great love. In which all misunderstandings have long been cleared up.
