When the Lamborghini Urus was first unveiled, it attracted its fair share of plaudits and criticism. A supercar marque building a family car? Blasphemy, they shouted.

To be fair, a supercar, even one as sexy as Lamborghini’s creations, won’t move the sales charts as much as a sports utility vehicle (SUV) will. One only needs to look at the Cayenne and how it transformed Porsche’s bottomline.

But the Urus is more than just an SUV. The brand calls it an SSUV, the first S denoting Super. In 2012, the Raging Bull asked how it could imbue the soul of a sports car into an SUV. Five years and 170 million pounds later, it unveiled the Urus, which offers racetrack performance with versatile off-road abilities.

And it looks darn good for an SUV.

As with its past supercars, the luxury SUV derives its name from the world of bulls. Also known as Aurochs, urus means the Spanish fighting bull – one of the large, wild ancestors of the domestic cattle. The car is also modelled aesthetically after the animal.

Although based on the same MLB Evo platform as the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini promises that the Urus is more exceptional in performance and handling. A 4.0-litre V8 twin turbo engine accomplishes the century sprint in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed of 305 kph. That’s a pretty darn fast SUV.

Masculine aggression has always been a part of Lamborghini’s DNA and the Urus comes with six driving modes, which is a first for Lamborghini. The system tailors the air suspension and electromechanical anti-roll bars to make sure the five-seater proficiently tackles all road conditions.

For instance, Strada (comfort) and Terra (off-road) reduces understeer for safe and simple driving, while Corsa (sport) aids the Urus in becoming more agile with a greater oversteer character.

And despite being a lot bigger than its supercar cousins, the Urus is still unmistakably Lamborghini. Its low and short front overhang communicates strength and muscularity while the front LED headlights come in the familiar Lamborghini Y shape – sleek, slim and sporty.

Meanwhile, the rear of the luxury SUV sports the complex, powerful lines typical of a Lamborghini, reinforcing the strong, planted character of the car.

We reckon the Lamborghini Urus might just be the SUV hit of 2018 and will push the Italian automaker into a new direction.

The Urus is expected to launch in Singapore in the second half of 2018.