With more power and less weight, the Lamborghini Urus Performante is among the fastest SUVs on the planet – and one of the last new Lamborghinis without hybrid power.
The 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante has been revealed during Monterey Car Week in California, ahead of first overseas deliveries due later this year – but Australian launch timing is yet to be confirmed.
Borrowing the badge applied to hotter versions of Lamborghini’s Gallardo and Huracan supercars, the Urus Performante offers more power, less weight, sharper handling, and a more aggressive look than the standard car.
It’s also likely to be among the last pure petrol-powered Urus variants to be launched, as Lamborghini’s switch to an all-hybrid model range by the end of 2024 will in time kill off the Performante – and slot a plug-in hybrid in its place.
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Powering the Performante is a tuned version of the standard Urus SUV’s 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, now developing 490kW (up 12kW) and 850Nm (unchanged) – fed through an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
Lamborghini quotes a 3.3-second 0-100km/h time for the Performante (0.3s quicker than the regular Urus), an 11.5-second 0-200km/h time (1.2s faster), and a 306km/h top speed (1km/h higher).
The performance improvements are a result of not only the increased power, but sticker tyres (more in a moment), and a 47kg weight saving, thanks to the comprehensive use of carbon fibre.
Carbon fibre is used as standard or an option for the bonnet (available in an exposed carbon-fibre finish, or painted), bonnet vents, the roof, front and rear bumpers, rear spoiler fins, wheel-arch flares, and rear diffuser.
The new carbon parts give the Performante a more aggressive look than the regular Urus, with a new front end with larger front air intakes for more cooling, a bigger rear spoiler, black accents (where carbon fibre isn’t used), and a restyled rear bumper.
The new rear spoiler is said to increase rear downforce by 38 per cent – for an overall downforce increase of eight per cent – while further down, a titanium sports exhaust from Slovenian exhaust specialist Akrapovic has been fitted.
The wider wheel arches hide 16mm-broader wheel tracks, bolted to which are 23-inch wheels with road-oriented tyres, or lightweight 22-inch wheels with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R road-legal semi-slick rubber, said to represent the tyre’s first use on an SUV.
The Urus Performante rides 20mm lower than the standard car, thanks to new steel springs, joined by recalibrated front and rear-wheel steering, and a reworked rear differential said to deliver improved torque vectoring capabilities.
Strada (road), Sport and Corsa (race) drive modes – each revised for the Performante – are now joined by a Rally mode, which loosens the traction control to let the car slide in corners, and tweaks the active anti-roll bars and dampers to suit rough terrain.
The 440mm 10-piston front and 370mm single-piston rear carbon-ceramic brakes are carried across from the standard Urus, but various factors – likely including the sticky Pirelli Trofeo R tyres – have cut the 100km/h to zero stopping distance from 33.7 to 32.9 metres.
Inside, upgrades include a new hexagonal seat stitching design, Performante-specific upholstery on the seats, doors, roof lining and seat backrests, and a dizzying array of personalisation options through Lamborghini’s Ad Personam program.
The instrument cluster and infotainment screen gain new graphics specific to the Performante.
First deliveries of the 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante are due to commence before the end of this year overseas – though Australian details are yet to be confirmed.
In the US, the Urus Performante is priced from about $US260,000 ($AU377,000) – a 15 per cent increase over the regular Urus, which in Australia costs $395,888 plus on-road costs (and options).
Editor’s note: High-resolution images were not available ahead of the global media embargo, alongside the press release – so to get our coverage out as soon as possible, we’ve used some leaked photos that surfaced ahead of the unveiling. We’ll update this story with clearer photos at the earliest opportunity.
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