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The Lamborghini LM002 dates back to 1986, exactly 40 years ago at the time of writing, the first production prototype was unveiled at the 1986 Brussels Motor Show, but it would be the Turin show much later in 1986 that would show the actual production model. By the end of 1986, Lamborghini still managed to deliver 23 of these massive off-road vehicles to fortunate customers.

The first production LM002 was delivered in late 1986 to His Royal Highness King Hassan II of Morocco, while Formula One world champion Keke Rosberg was also among the early customers. The LM002 found its way into the garages of a fascinating collection of high-profile owners. Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone reportedly owned one, while music icons Tina Turner and Eddie Van Halen were also drawn to Lamborghini’s outrageous SUV. Business magnate Malcolm Forbes went a step further, ordering his LM002 in his signature “money green” finish.

The Lamborghini LM002 was unlike anything else on the market in the late 1980s. Its outrageous proportions, immense V12 power from a modified Countach Quattrovalvole engine, and genuine off-road capability made it impossible to ignore, attracting plenty of attention, both positive and negative.

Over the seven years the LM002 was in production, it became a decent success; in total, 301 were built. Today, these cars are nearly 40 years old, and several have been lost over time, which makes them a rare sight; hence, no matter where you drive a Lamborghini LM002, you will still be admired. Back in the Eighties, a journalist for a well-known car magazine nicknamed the LM002 the Rambo Lambo … and that name still hangs on today, probably because of its military looks and huge power, much like the character in the famous Rambo movies. If you think about it, the Lamborghini LM002 looks meaner than Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone combined.

Remember, we are talking about an era years before the Hummer H1, BMW X5, Audi Q7, or Porsche Cayenne were even being developed; in the Eighties, a car standing 1.89m tall and 2m wide was very impressive, and whenever a Lamborghini LM002 would appear in your rear-view mirror, it was time to make way for it. Chances were this 2,700 kg mammoth would pass you by at high speed … in a cloud of dust and fuel fumes, this was a solid brick of steel that would reach 100km/h in less than 8 seconds and reach a top speed in excess of 200km/h, on-road, and off-road (although off-road it would 'only' do about 180km/h), back in a time when a Golf GTI was considered to be fast, naturally fuel consumption was something to worry about behind the wheel of an LM002. Many owners actually ran out of fuel in their LM002.

On the early models, the large center bulge on the hood accommodated an equally huge air cleaner casing, mounted directly over the six Weber carburetors; the fuel supply system was equipped with two filters, in-line and in-series, and the carburetors were set to burn far-less-than-perfect fuel. An oversized radiator with two high-speed fans kept the 'hot' engine cool, even while traveling through the hot desert.

In 1989, the carburetors were replaced with a fuel injection system that didn't require the large air cleaner anymore, so the engine hood was modified; the angular boxes became more rounded and, more importantly, didn't stand so high anymore, which improved visibility behind the steering wheel. A nice detail is the fact that for RHD models, the ‘bulbs’ were moved to the other side on the engine hood, for better visibility.

The total production is estimated between 301 and 328 units; exact numbers have been lost over time, unfortunately, but it is safe to state less than 300 LM002 remain today. With prices still at a decent level, a second-hand, late model fuel injected LM002 will cost between $350,000 and $550,000 at the time of writing; earlier models in less than perfect shape could be yours for less than $250,000, however.

This brand new AUTOart Lamborghini LM002 on a 1/18 scale finally offers collectors the option of owning the mammoth four-door Lamborghini off-road V12 with opening doors and engine cover, something that hasn’t been available until now. I own a few 1/18 scale models of this rather special Lamborghini, but all of them are sealed resin models, some with the later, fuel-injected engine, others with the earlier carburetted V12, and it is the latter that AUTOart released.

AUTOart doesn’t disappoint with this new Lamborghini model, the LM002 looks amazing, very impressive on the shelf between Lamborghini supercars, and make no mistake, this is a massive model, much larger than the current SuperSUV from Sant’Agata, the Urus, and AUTOart made sure all the details are there, some might be questionable, but at first glance they are all correct … more or less.

The wheels are the original steel wheels Lamborghini fitted; later you could opt for OZ-Wheels, but many LM002 came with these 17-inch steel wheels. AUTOart fitted this model with very detailed 345/60VR17 Pirelli Scorpions; some LM002 came with 325mm tires, but many had these wider ones fitted, so that’s still correct. And AUTOart fitted two different center caps, front to rear, which is also correct, as you needed to ‘lock’ the front wheels when required, so that’s amazing attention to detail.

This AUTOart model of the Lamborghini LM002 does not come with the small ‘bumpers’ that some LM002s had fitted, which might be a good idea to avoid damaging the expensive bodywork in a small, low-speed accident, but it is period-correct, as is the massive spare tire fitted on the rear hatch, which would have nice if you could open this hatch, but that’s not an option on this AUTOart model, you can’t win them all.

Some also complain about the Raging Bull logo on the spare tire, which is debatable in fact. In real life the Lamborghini LM002 would come with a cover over the wheel of the spare, but it gets complicated when you look at real LM002s, some have a color-coded cover with nothing on it, some come with the Raging Bull logo as seen on this scale model, while others have the logo with the Lamborghini script below it … so AUTOart isn’t wrong here, it’s just a little questionable.

The engine is really, really nicely detailed on this 1/18 scale model, you open the hood and you can almost hear the V12 thundering through those two tailpipes, it looks real, the finish on all the different parts just look right, sure some colors might not be exact as seen on some real LM002s, but other do correspond exactly, so I’m really happy with this new V12 from AUTOart.

But then we get to the ‘less than perfect’ part of this model, I really don’t think the antenna on the roof of this model looks like the one on most real Lamborghini LM002, I have seen quite a few of these Rambo Lambo at events and on the road, and they all had an antenna on the roof, but none of them such a big, chrome one, so I personally think AUTOart should have made a different choice here.

The Lamborghini LM002 is a four-door V12, so this AUTOart model also has four doors, and you can open all of them to admire the interior, now I must admit I would have liked a tan interior in this red version, but it is black, which happens to match the AUTOart Countach LP500S and 25th Anniversary, so I’m not complaining too much, and as it happens, the Rosso Siviglia paint is a perfect match with the Celebrations Countach too, so they make a perfect pair.

Inside the Lamborghini LM002 you get four sport seats, upholstered in leather, on the AUTOart one it’s plastic, as was expected, but Lamborghini also fitted real wood fineer in their off-road mammoth, either teak or burled wood, and somehow I’m not too impressed with the replication of this wood from AUTOart on a 1/18 scale, I think they could have done better, but other than that, the interior looks great.

For me, this new AUTOart Lamborghini LM002 is a must-have: finally the V12 off-road Bull from the Eighties with doors we can open and a hood to open and admire that massive V12 engine, and while I love this red one, I’m not sure it is the one to get. AUTOart still has to release two more shades: a black-on-red one and a dark blue-on-tan one, and personally, I think the blue one might be the one to get, so if you’re in doubt, better wait another month or so to see that blue-on-tan one first.

Originally released in August 2026.

our RATING

Exterior		9/10
Interior		8/10
Engine		9/10
Accuracy		8/10
Overall rating		8/10

Original price on August 19, 2026 : € 330