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2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante Is More of a Track Monster
The ultra-high-performance version of Lambo's high-performance SUV excels in an unlikely arena.
Arms races inevitably lead to the creation of overpowered weapons systems. That principle also applies to high-performance SUVs, such as the Lamborghini Urus Performante. Lamborghini began work on it well ahead of the introduction of the Aston Martin DBX 707 and the announcement of the upcoming Ferrari Purosangue, so the Performante technically isn't a response to either. But the turned-up Urus is aimed at the same crowd: cash-flush buyers who aren't satisfied with merely fast and want to skip straight to fastest.
While the Performante has only a slight edge over the regular Urus in power output and acceleration, Lamborghini says that around a typical racetrack, this hulking SUV is now quicker than the original Huracán LP610-4 was just eight years ago.
Granted, there are some provisos to that claim. Lambo's chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, credits much of the Performante's improved performance to improvements in tire technology-buyers will be able to option this super-ute with ultra-sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber. What's more telling: Rohr says that when the Performante and the standard Urus are using the same tires, the new version is three seconds faster on the demanding 3.9-mile handling track at Porsche's Nardò proving ground.
We'll admit that a track-biased SUV might sound as ridiculous as a supercar that has been adapted for off-road use (which Lamborghini will also offer, with the announced Huracán Sterrato). But that seems to be the yardstick by which the makers of these super-SUVs assess themselves and their rivals. A prototype version of the Performante already has set an SUV speed record on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course, with a time of 10 minutes and 32 seconds, lopping 18 seconds off the previous benchmark from a Bentley Bentayga. So, this is a thing. Having driven the Performante on the Vallelunga circuit near Rome, we can also confirm that it is an absolute monster on a road course.
Mechanical improvements over the regular Urus are more about responses than straight-line speed. The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 here produces 657 horsepower, a 16-hp increase, while the torque peak of 627 lb-ft remains unchanged. The engine now exhales through an even raspier sport exhaust, and throttle mapping has been sharpened in all drive modes.
The Performante also gets a new Torsen center differential, which can send more torque to the rear axle, where an active rear differential apportions it side to side. It sits 0.8 inch closer to the ground and ditches the air springs for steel coils, which lose the ability to vary ride height but sharpen handling. As on the standard Urus, adaptive dampers, an active anti-roll system, and rear-wheel steering are on hand, although with more aggressive software-defined parameters. The eight-speed automatic gearbox has also been tweaked to reduce shift times.
Like its Huracán Performante namesake, the new Urus variant has shed weight. A carbon-fiber hood, lighter wheels, and a titanium exhaust are part of a package of revisions that have reduced mass by a claimed 104 pounds. Given that the last Urus we tested weighed 5314 pounds, the Performante is still no lightweight. Aerodynamic changes courtesy of the revised front end and a new liftgate spoiler manage the twofer of reducing aerodynamic lift by up to 38 percent while lowering drag.
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