Watch a Rambo Lambo slide up a Swiss ski slope
Swiss-based swanky car dealer Simon Kidston is well known for his kitsch videos of classic cars. In the past he’s recreated the infamous C’était un Rendezvous, pitted Testarossa against Countach, Veyron against F1, and even paid tribute to The Italian Job with a Miura.
For his latest production Kidston has taken the Lamborghini LM002 to Gstaad in Switzerland for a snowy ski slope excursion. The car is obviously the star but, without giving too much away, we also enjoyed the sight of 1980s period-correct hairy snow boots, a garish shell suit, and an insane mirrored sun visor in this entertaining short film.
Of course, you’ll want to know more about the Rambo Lambo, so here goes. Lamborghini first experimented with the idea of an all-terrain military vehicle with its 1977 Cheetah prototype. Powered by a Chrysler V-8, the car never made it to production in that form, but Tamiya produced a radio-controlled 1/12th scale model, so kids and dads all over the world could jump and drift the mad machine until the batteries ran out.
Back at full-size scale, Lamborghini followed with the LM001 prototype which, like its predecessor, had an American V-8 mounted in the rear (this time the mill was sourced from AMC), but it was soon realized that this engine position wasn’t ideal for off-roading.
For the LM002 Lamborghini dropped the V-8 and installed its own 5.2-liter V-12 from the Countach up front, with a switchable all-wheel-drive transmission. The tubular steel chassis was clothed in aluminum panels rather than heavy armor and a luxury leather interior offered creature comforts including air conditioning and a powerful stereo. A model once destined for the military had evolved into a plaything for the rich. The car was unveiled at the Brussels Auto Show in 1986, and sales began soon after, with a total of 328 being built.
Among the Lambo’s most impressive innovations were its Pirelli Scorpion tires, designed to be able to hold the car’s near-6000-pound weight even when flat. Kidston notes that a set of these today costs over $20,000, although that doesn’t stop the driver from spinning them profusely.