How The Lamborghini LM002 Got Its Nickname 'Rambo Lambo'

The Lamborghini LM002 combined the sheer performance of a V12 engine with the capability of an off-road, military-descended vehicle, topped with a luxurious interior worthy of any Lamborghini. The result, which was made from the 1986 through the 1993 model years, created a sensation in the exotic car world, even though it would later become the Lamborghini SUV you've probably never heard of.

The widely diverse group of Lamborghini LM002 owners included Sylvester Stallone, Malcolm Forbes, Tina Turner, and Muammar Gadaffi. This was around the time when Stallone's first three "Rambo" movies were released in 1982, 1985, and 1988, so the press latched onto the "Rambo Lambo" name — and it stuck. It also didn't hurt that the Lamborghini LM002 had the street cred that came from its history as a vehicle initially developed for the U.S. military. 

The "Rambo Lambo" was a truly audacious concept. Producing 450 horsepower, it had the same 5.2-liter V12 found in the Countach Quattrovalvole, topped with six Weber carburetors. It was, like the Countach, one of the most powerful vehicles of any type that could be purchased back then. All of those 450 horsepower transited through a five-speed manual transmission provided by ZF, before being sent to all four wheels in a drive system that included three self-locking differentials. And then you had that gorgeous interior providing leather-lined, fully-carpeted luxury. Despite being arguably one of the worst-looking Lamborghini models, there was simply nothing else like it in the world of exotic cars, particularly at that point in time.

The Lamborghini LM002 descended from a 1977 prototype of a military vehicle called the Cheetah that Lamborghini had created alongside an American company, Mobile Technology International. This was at a time when the Lamborghini company was having a difficult time financially. It saw the potential of this military contract as a way to generate ongoing revenue that would allow Lamborghini to build more cars and get them certified for U.S. sales. 

Long story short, the Cheetah project failed and Lamborghini went bankrupt. Later, it was revived by two brothers, Jean-Claude and Patrick Mimran, and their $3 million investment in the company. The military contract, however, was awarded to AM General, which proceeded to produce the successful Humvee. The military-focused Cheetah prototype was redesigned and transformed into the "Rambo Lambo," now intended for sale to the general public — or at least to the ones who could afford a $120,000 vehicle at the time.

A total of somewhere between 300 and 328 examples of the Lamborghini LM002 were produced during its eight-year run, and these days this model goes for upwards of $400,000 in original condition. The legacy of the Lamborghini LM002, as extreme as it was, can be seen in the success of the next Lamborghini SUV to come along: the Urus. The Lamborghini Urus is the company's best-selling vehicle. Known as a super SUV, the Urus has been much more of a success than the LM002 ever was.