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1990 Lamborghini LM002 Review by Jay Leno Will Make You Fall in Love

For its time, the Lamborghini LM002 was as ostentatious as a gold-plated Bugatti. Every celebrity wanted to own one, and every boy wanted to have it on his bedroom wall back in the early 90s.
1990 Lamborghini LM002 Review by Jay Leno will Make You Fall in Love 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
But what is the Rambo Lambo like to drive in 2015? Well, everybody says you should never drive your childhood car hero, but that idea doesn't apply to this vehicle.

Car connoisseur and all-road funny guy Jay Leno got to drive a mint condition LM002 serviced by Damiano Barbuscia, of Franco's European, for its very lucky owner. There are a few mods on this vehicle, including bigger mirrors and a new bed lining with a bike rack, but it's a stock 4x4 for the most part.

Decades before the BMW X5 M and the Mercedes G63 AMG mixed lots of horsepower with all-wheel-drive, this Italian truck was equipped with a V12 engine from the Countach. The 5167cc mill has the injection system from the Diablo on this late US model, and it sounds fantastic.

Lamborghini's first off-roader was the Cheetah, and was equipped with a rear-mounted waterproof 180 horsepower 5.9-liter Chrysler engine with a 3-speed automatic transmission. However, the LM002 had its engine at the front and a conventional manual gearbox.

The original cabin may be a little rough around the edges, but this customer decided to spruce things up by installing carbon fiber inserts instead of the old wood trim.

Enjoying thrashing a Lambo V12 4x4 through the dessert doesn't sound insane at all nowadays. In fact, who wouldn't like that? Many German manufacturers offer high-performance SUVs with powerful engines and sports suspension. Land Rover also has the very capable Range Rover Sport SVR while Bentley introduced the Bentayga a few months ago with plans for a track model in the future.

Not surprisingly, Lamborghini wants a successor for the LM002 to sell to its rich Arab customers to pick up the mantle. It won't look like a Hummer, but at least the engine will sound exotic.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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