Rally Raid
Vallelunga about miles north of Rome is a tight and technical track and the fact that we’re here at all in the new Lamborghini Urus Performante all kg of it is a testament to the company’s belief in its fast selling super SUV
What’s new? Well the Urus Performante’s drivetrain now features a fourth setting on its Tamburo drive controller in addition to the familiar Strada Sport and Corsa modes called Rally This reduces the ESP threshold and uses the torque biasing rear diff to fire more drive to the fun bit of the car The results are very slidey
It runs a little bit wide in the tighter turns but that’s more driver error than vehicle ineptitude It even manages to land securely after a ‘yomp’ One of the Performante’s major changes is the fitment of steel springs instead of the standard air suspension for more linear responses Along with the V anti roll bar it conjures a level of body control that’s faintly spooky in a car of this type
The steering and throttle have been reprogrammed for faster responses and the active rear axle is also swifter acting than on the standard car The eight speed gearbox shifts more aggressively There’s a new Torsen central diff and active torque vectoring at the rear plus various aero revisions A new air curtain on the front bumper tidies up the turbulent kerfuffle around the wheelarches and a rear spoiler generates per cent more downforce in that area The Urus Performante sits mm lower than before and has a wider front and rear track A carbon fibre bonnet is standard but you’ll have to pay more if you want a composite roof to go with it An Akrapovič sports exhaust is fitted whose bass frequencies and overall resonance depend on which drive mode you select In the spirit of marginal gains titanium bolts feature on the wheels with three new designs available including optional inchers The overall weight reduction is a modest but not insignificant kg
The litre twin turbo V hasn’t been dramatically reworked its power output has increased to bhp there’s lb ft of torque and the turbos now work harder Accelerating to mph in secs versus for the regular Urus and mph in in a car with this sort of mass is initially odd But it only takes a few laps to dial in to Vallelunga’s challenges
The Performante speaks of the engineering and design talent Lambo currently commands Regardless of how you feel about this particular market sector that much is undeniable It’s quite the device this