It might sound like sacrilege, but Lamborghini is heading off-road and back to its roots. Before the Italian manufacturer built supercars, its founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, made his money selling tractors - and the firm now has another 4x4 on the drawing board.

But it's not completely forgetting its core customers, and has a new front-engined GT model on the cards as well. The last time Lamborghini put its name to an off-roader was in 1992, when production of the brutish LM 002 finished. The exclusive pictures in this week's issue give the first glimpse of the all-wheel-drive Porsche Cayenne rival which insiders say will see the LM badge return.

With Lamborghini under Audi's control, the Italian firm is ideally placed to benefit from its German parent's engineering expertise. The new mud-plugger is expected to be based on the same platform as the Audi Pikes Peak 4x4, which was unveiled as a concept at 2002's Detroit Motor Show and is set to go on sale next year. It's also likely to borrow parts from VW's Touareg.

However, this new-found love of off-roading doesn't mean Lamborghini is turning its back on supercars. Company designers are also working on a front-engined rival to the Ferrari 575M.

Power will come from the same 5.0-litre V10 engine as in the Gallardo, which means an output in excess of 500bhp is more than likely. This new model is a radical departure from the mid-engined Gallardo and Murciélago, but would still be an impressive addition to Lamborghini's imposing line-up. Neither the sportster nor the 4x4 is expected to appear in the metal before 2006.

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