--- title: "This was the Lamborghini built for the US military" date: "2018-11-01" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-tactical/this-was-the-lamborghini-built-for-the-us-military/" categories: - "Tactical" - "Vehicles" --- # This was the Lamborghini built for the US military ![]() Lambos aren't exactly known for the rugged durability required by American military vehicles. So, the reason they specially made the Lamborghini Cheetah for the U.S. military would have to be pretty far out there. --- Well, not that far, actually: the company was struggling economically from a global recession and an ongoing oil crisis. They were bleeding money, so they decided to start taking design contracts. One of those contracts was actually a subcontract for the American military. ![]() *In an alternate Fast and Furious timeline, Vin Diesel and Ludacris joined in the military in the 70s.* The Cheetah was born. It debuted in 1977 and was a failure from the start. The large rear-mounted engine ruined the weight distribution (and thus, [the vehicle's handling]()). After making three expensive prototypes the U.S. Army just wasn't interested in, the damage was done. Lamborghini even went out of business for a while. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZ810XCMns Besides the handling, there were a number of reasons the Lamborghini and the Army just weren't going to match. A major reason was that Lamborghini's design was actually a ripoff they received from an Army subcontractor – but Lamborghini didn't know that. When the Cheetah bombed during testing for the military, the contract for the new vehicle went to the Humvee. Even though the Cheetah's massive failure caused other contractors to pull their money from Lamborghini, sending the company into a death spiral, it gave them time to lick their wounds and reconvene later. The concept of a Lambo SUV never fully died, either. Lamborghini engineers revisited the idea later, conceiving a civilian version of the vehicle, the Lamborghini Militaria No.1, or LM001, and its more popular, later iteration, the LMA002. ![]() *The 1982 Lamborghini LMA002.* The latest Lamborghini SUV features a V12 engine (the Cheetah only had a V8), souped-up and superior to its 70s-era ancestor in every possible way. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()