The Lamborghini LM002, the short-lived Raging Bull that practically invented the luxury SUV segment, is still alive and kicking on the classic vehicle market. A 1987 silver-over-beige example just brought $400,000 on Bring a Trailer, continuing a recent trend of ever-increasing values for the “Rambo Lambo,” so named for Rambo star Sylvester Stallone’s reported enthusiasm for the vehicle.
Launched at the Brussels Auto Show in 1986, the Lamborghini LM002 was likened to a “street-legal Tiger Tank” in an early Car and Driver review. While has nothing to do with Nazi Germany’s dominating battle tank, the LM002’s militaristic roots can be traced back to 1977, when Lamborghini began developing a large, rear-engine all-terrain vehicle dubbed the Cheetah LM001 with the hopes of winning a U.S. Army contract. The engine’s placement detracted from handling and interior space, so the LM001 never amounted to more than a prototype.
But ex-Maserati designer Giulio Alfieri saw potential when he was tasked with revision. He moved the Countach-sourced 5.2-liter V12 to the front, which improved handling and weight distribution while opening up the interior to accommodate six passengers in a luxurious style becoming of energy executives and sheikhs. As such, it was appointed with cutting-edge proprietary Pirelli Scorpion run-flat tires and a precursor of today’s GPS navigation systems.
That improved performance wasn’t enough to carry sales—only 328 were sold between 1986 and 1992. But the Rambo Lambo’s legacy is still being forged today on the aftermarket. According to Hagerty’s tracking of Lamborghini LM002 sales since the early 1990s, this is the sixth-highest sale of the ultra-rare Raging Bull—all of the top sellers have cracked $400,000, and five of the six were sold in the past five years. At an RM Sotheby’s auction in August of 2024, a 1989 LM002A 4×4 model with just over 23,100 miles on the odometer set the bar extremely high with a hammer price of $703,500, while a distant second 1988 example fetched $437,817 in June of 2024.
Hagerty’s Lamborghini LM002 valuator, which currently ranges from $217,000 in “Fair” condition to $467,000 for a Concours-worthy vehicle, hasn’t seen a single downturn since the classic car insurer began appraising the model in the 2000s. Not only is the Rambo Lambo a ruthlessly cool experiment in Lamborghini history, it’s also an iron-clad investment.