Lamborghini's lineup is rife with bold, brash sports cars that challenge the senses as they push performance to the extreme. But, there's one vehicle that stands out as being dual purpose - the Lamborghini Urus can also be a daily driver for families.

Designing an SUV, even one that has its roots in the Volkswagen Group's parts bin, has its challenges, but for Lamborghini's Head of Design Mitja Borkert, that's part of the appeal of crafting the lone family-friendly vehicle in the herd. The man lights up just talking about it.

The new Lamborghini Urus Preformante debuted at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering last week, giving super luxury horsepower enthusiasts with kids a direct competitor with the Aston Martin DBX707. It raises the bar, giving access to 666 horsepower to move around a body that's 103.6 pounds slimmer than a traditional Urus. That's good for the best power-to-weight ratio in its class.

It has a fresh face and rear with deep hood cuts down to the new front bumper, increasing visibility for drivers and bringing the face of the Urus more directly in line with the design language put forth with the latest Huracáns.

Weight savings and new design lines were achieved using partially visible carbon fiber on much of the body. Standard carbon fiber components including the front bumper, splitter, lower rear bumper, diffuser and hood. A carbon fiber roof is available.

Design isn't all about power, weight savings and beauty. For modern vehicles, especially those primarily used away from a track, safety is a key component, whether it be cameras and Lidar built into the model to help keep it centered in a lane or engineering a vehicle's body panels to mitigate damage to pedestrians in the event of a collision.

Possible impact areas help shape the proportions of a car as much as aerodynamics and company design language.

"I find this is an inspiring part of the job," Borkert told Newsweek. "In the end of the day, it's like in any game, if you don't have rules, what is the sense of a game? I really like those [challenges that safety requirements present] because it is keeping us creative. There's always one point here I need to respect because I have a 30-degree inclination here ... I have head impact [zones] to respect, so there is a lot of relation about a couple of points ... it has a consequence on some shapes."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has created Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that apply to models sold in the U.S. They cover everything from the minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles to seatbelt assemblies and rear visibility.

New vehicles, despite their height, width and the perceived danger their size causes, must meet these requirements to go on sale in the country.

According to Russ Rader, Senior Vice President for Communications at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), pedestrian deaths have risen "dramatically" in the US in recent years. He points to the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks as being a key part of the problem.

"Most struck pedestrians and bicyclists are hit by the front of a passenger vehicle. An adult pedestrian is likely to be struck in the legs and may be thrown onto the hood of the car," he told Newsweek. "In contrast, when a pedestrian is struck by a taller vehicle such as an SUV or pickup truck, particularly one with a more vertical front end, the impact is higher on the body. In this case, the person is likely to be knocked down and run over."

International standards often go further than U.S. standards with European and Asian countries leading the way. "Pedestrian safety regulations in Europe mean that automakers must design front ends with more room between the hood and engine or implement other measures such as pop-up hoods that automatically lift a few inches upon impact," said Rader.

Borkert sees his designs as being part of a responsibility toward pedestrians, saying that, "Fifty years ago, maybe, the designers had more freedom because they didn't care about this, but it's part of our professionalism."

While it's important for designers to meet the challenges that the possibility of physical impacts represents, Rader sees technology as the best way to keep pedestrians and other motorists safe.

"The best solution is to prevent the collision altogether. That's why automatic emergency braking, which is now standard on virtually every new passenger vehicle sold in the U.S. is so important," he said. "Many of these systems can detect and prevent or mitigate collisions with pedestrians as well as with other vehicles."

In December 2021, Ford Motor Company (Ford and Lincoln brands) and American Honda Motor Company (Honda and Acura brands) joined 10 other automakers in fulfilling their voluntary commitment to making automatic emergency braking standard across their lineup by no later than NHTSA's 2022 reporting year, which begins September 1, 2022.

Those two companies joined the Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Genesis, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo brands as having reached the milestone ahead of the deadline.

In all 20 automakers have committed to the pledge. Stellantis, then FCA US LLC, previously signed up for the plan, along with General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan and Porsche.

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