Lamborghini Urus Performante revealed

Not content to let the Aston Martin DBX707 and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT steal all the hyper-SUV glory, Lamborghini has turned up the heat by unleashing a pumped-up Performante variant of its already rapid Urus at California’s Monterey Car Week today.

The 2022 Lamborghini Urus Performante – which we have just driven in prototype form – isn’t just about reclaiming SUV top-dog status as it also makes great financial sense for the company.

The Urus now accounts for more than 60 per cent of the brand’s sales and the Performante will doubtless add to the model’s lustre and build on its massive showroom success.

While only the uprated Performante has been revealed today, a facelifted and updated version of the regular model is also waiting in the wings. We’ll bring you news on that ahead of its debut next month.

The Urus Performante has already posted runs on the board by smashing the production SUV record at the Pikes Peak hillclimb – dubbed the ‘Race to the Clouds’ – in June.

The Performante’s searing pace is attributable to a 47kg weight-loss program, along with an uprated twin-turbo V8, plus comprehensive changes to its chassis and aero package.

The Urus Performante is expected on sale locally in the second quarter of next year, priced from $465,876 (plus taxes and on-road costs). The standard Urus currently starts from $391,969 plus on-road costs in four-seater configuration.

Contrary to the usual go-faster formula, the tweaks to the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 are the least noteworthy elements of the Performante’s makeover.

A lightweight Akrapovic exhaust system and remapped ECU boosts power from the standard vehicle’s 650hp (478kW) to 666hp (490kW), while the peak torque figure of 850Nm remains unchanged.

You may be surprised to learn the Performante ditches the standard Urus’s air suspension in favour of steel springs that lower the chassis by 20mm and increase stiffness by 90 per cent at the front and 51 per cent at the rear.

Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr explains this is largely because steel springs deliver more consistent and progressive response across the range of suspension travel, so this set-up is better suited to a vehicle that’s heavily performance oriented.

As an added bonus, the steel-sprung setup is 20kg lighter than air suspension.

The switch from air suspension means the Performante loses the ability to offer variable ride height and it sacrifices a little in the way of ride quality, but that’s unlikely to be a deal breaker for its target audience as it’s still compliant enough to be used as a daily driver.

Adding to its dynamism, the Performante’s wheel tracks have been pushed out by 16mm, while the pumped guards are filled by either 22-inch forged alloys with titanium bolts or optional 23-inchers.

Also unique to the Performante are specially developed Pirelli Trofeo R tyres (optional).

Lamborghini hasn’t spared the carbon-fibre composite in conjuring up the Urus Performante as the bonnet, front and rear bumpers, splitter, wheel-arch extensions and rear diffuser are all fabricated from the material.

A carbon-fibre roof is optional, and you can order the bonnet in body colour or partially visible carbon-fibre as an option.

The lightweight body parts help the Performante shed 47kg vis-a-vis the standard Urus, but it’s still a fairly hefty chariot at 2150kg. Even so, it comes in about 70kg lighter than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT.

Lamborghini’s design and engineering team also sought to improve the improve the aero package, and among the key elements here are new black front air intakes that deliver increased engine cooling, while a new air curtain draws airflow over the front wheels to reduce drag.

Those vents in the bonnet aren’t just for show either, as they extract hot air from the engine and are said to also contribute to aero efficiency.

Meanwhile, at the trailing edge of the roof sits a newly designed spoiler with carbon-fibre fins that’s claimed to increase rear downforce by 38 per cent.

The ‘Tamburo’ drive-mode selector has the usual Strada, Sport, Corsa and Ego modes, but ‘Rally’ is introduced in place of the standard Urus’ Sabbia, Terra and Neve off-road settings. This mode allows for more wheelspin and oversteer on gravel, making it a real entertainer on loose surfaces (as we discovered during our drive of the prototype at the Nardo test facility in Italy).

Lamborghini quotes a 0-100km/h split of 3.3sec, 0-200km/h in 11.5sec and a top speed of 306km/h, which puts the Urus Performante pretty much lineball with the Aston Martin DBX707.

Lambo CTO Mohr said a tilt at the Nurburgring Nordschleife SUV record (currently held by the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT) may be on the cards, but added that this benchmark is less relevant for an SUV than it is for a super sportscar.

The Performante isn’t too difficult to distinguish from its standard sibling, as the lowered stance is accentuated by its prominent front and rear bumpers, which stretch overall length by 25mm.

Further visual differentiation is provided by the bi-colour livery as – in addition to the optional visible carbon-fibre bonnet – there’s black-painted door handles, while the front and rear aero addenda and lower side sills are also black.

The noir theme extends to the cabin as the cockpit features Nero Cosmus black Alcantara as standard with a new hexagonal seat stitching design (dubbed ‘Performante trim’). You can substitute the Alcantara trim with leather, should you wish.

There’s also a new HMI graphic, with a dedicated design for the Urus Performante, which features on both the centre console screen and in a large arc across the main display.

Dedicated colour and trim options include extension of the Performante trim on doors, roof lining and seat backrests, with further Ad Personam customisation including interior matt carbon-fibre details, red door handles and a customised kickplate with the Ad Personam logo. 

The safety kit quota is unchanged from the standard vehicle, so you get eight airbags, plus electronic stability control (ESC), roll stability control (RSC), forward collision mitigation, highway assistant lane keeping assist and lane departure warning, emergency SOS, front and rear parking sensors and blind spot warning.

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