Lamborghini’s journey into the realm of all-terrain vehicles began with the 1977 Cheetah, initially developed under contract from Mobility Technology International. Interestingly, this design bore a striking resemblance to the 1970 XR311 by FMC, a military vehicle intended to replace the M151 jeep.
The evolution continued with the LM001 in 1981, born from a reimagining of the Cheetah. Powered by a rear-engined 4×4 layout and equipped with a V8 sourced from AMC, this venture was influenced by the Mimran brothers’ ownership of Automobili Lamborghini from 1980 to 1987.
Their association with Renault, which had acquired a significant share of AMC in 1979, led to the adoption of AMC power plants.
However, the LM001 project was short-lived due to handling issues, leading Lamborghini to introduce the LMA002 in 1982. This iteration featured the iconic Countach’s V12 engine mounted at the front, laying the groundwork for the LM002 sport utility truck, which saw a limited production run of only 301 units.
