New Lamborghini Urus sets Pikes Peak record

The still-secret new hard-core version of the 2023 Lamborghini Urus will be unveiled soon, and to whet our appetites the Italian supercar marque has claimed a new Pikes Peak course record for production SUVs ahead of its confirmed mid-August debut.

Teased earlier this week storming up the Colorado mountain as Lamborghini touted that “performance reaches new dimension”, the new model is expected to be called the Lamborghini Urus Performante, adopting the moniker that was last used on the Lamborghini Huracan Performante.

Possibly part of a broader Evo upgrade to the regular Urus, the harder-core model will take Lamborghini’s SUV to new heights as indicated by the 10:32.064 record time on the 20km high-altitude run at Pikes Peak.

That was enough to beat the previous benchmark set in a Bentley Bentayga in 2018 (10:49.902, +17.838sec).

Driven by hill-climb champion and Pirelli test driver Simone Faggioli, the camo-wrapped Urus was almost showroom-spec in terms of its updated mechanicals and chassis set-up.

This includes new 22-inch Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R semi-slicks measuring 285/40R22 up front and 325/35R22 at the rear.

The rubber was specially developed for the new model, with Lamborghini claiming “increased versatility, returning high performance both on dry asphalt with high ambient temperatures and on wet surfaces with colder temperatures”.

According to the car-maker, the only modifications made to the production model for the record attempt were the addition of a roll cage, race seat, six-point harness and a fire extinguishing system as per the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb safety regulations.

“The decision to test ourselves at Pikes Peak reflects the Lamborghini spirit of ‘expect the unexpected’, and demonstrates the outstanding performance of the new Urus model to be presented shortly,” said Automobili Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr.

“Pikes Peak is the most famous hill-climb event in the world, as well as being extremely challenging for the car.

“The uneven track layout tests the chassis’ balance, the significant altitude differences stress the powertrain and the weather conditions can change very rapidly between start to finish.”

Camouflaged prototypes of the harder-core Urus have been spotted testing on various occasions this year, the most recent showing a near-production-ready vehicle.

Expect more power from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 (currently 478kW), significant chassis modifications and updated technology as Lamborghini aims to scalp Aston Martin as the maker of the world’s fastest SUV.

You can also expect a much higher starting price over the current single-model Lamborghini Urus sold in Australia, which starts at $391,968 plus on-road costs.

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