2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante is more of a track monster
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 ultrasticky 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 straightline speed. The twin-turbo 4.0liter 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.
The hugeness of the Performante’s off-the-line acceleration remains the most visceral part of the driving experience. There is something otherworldly about a vehicle so big that can go so fast, devouring gear ratios in a storm of sound and fury. More impressive is the Performante’s ability to corral its huge urge in the unlikely environment of a racetrack. The vast carbon-ceramic brakes — 17.3-inch discs gripped by 10piston calipers up front — are unchanged from the standard car, but cooling has improved. They scrub off speed without complaint even during multilap stints, radiating the heat of an opened pizza oven once the car returned to the pit lane. And the optional Trofeo R tires generated huge grip and delivered a level of handling precision amazing in something of this size.
Steering feels crisper than in the regular Urus, and the Performante is keener to turn in. It fights understeer with rear-biased torque delivery, and the rear steering is evident in faster turns. The fundamental laws of physics have been bent rather than broken — even in the punchiest Strada mode, getting on the gas too early will have the front end edging wide. But with discipline and trust in the huge traction, the Performante felt much more agile than anything this size and shape has a right to.
The less aggressive Sport mode, which owners are more likely to choose on the street, provides a more playful character, with more freedom to influence cornering lines with throttle inputs. The only notable weakness on the track was the gearbox, which even under full manual control using the paddles still lacks the snap and speed of a dual-clutch transmission.
Lamborghini also allowed us to experience the Performante’s new Rally mode, effectively an off-road drift setting, on a twisty gravel loop. While this was fun, especially in somebody else’s quarter-million-dollar SUV, we winced at the sound of stones flung against the carbon-fiber wheel-arch and sill protectors. Rally mode requires a substantial throttle input to start a slide, and the driver must keep the pedal stamped so the active systems can regulate the yaw angle. Backing off the accelerator — the natural first instinct — brings the traction control back into play and makes the car bog down.
What was missing from our drive was the chance to take the Performante on the street. The ride is undoubtedly firmer than in the standard Urus, whose air springs are supple in the softest Strada mode. But Lamborghini is confident that buyers will be happy to sacrifice compliance for the higher-intensity experience. The company expects the Performante to make up more than half of Urus sales.
Will anybody who buys one actually take it to a track or an impromptu dirt-road drift session? “Maybe not so many,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann admits when the question is asked, “but they will like the idea that they can.” And indeed, they can.