Say hello to the new Lamborghini of SUVs, the Urus Performante. It’s a mid-life refresh for the Italian family supercar, meant to keep it relevant and interesting. Enough to fight off the Ferrari Purosangue or to convince existing Urus owners to switch?
It’s hard to say at this point. Even though the Urus received as much hate as pineapple pizza, it established itself as one of the best SUVs for the rich and famous. I have to say that the Performante changes aren’t as bold as some of the body kits out there, but the design introduced in 2018 was definitely upgraded.
Unlike the Huracan Performante, this isn’t a new version added to the range. It’s the new Urus you’re supposed to buy. They’ve redesigned their SUV just like BMW or Audi would. The refresh is obvious at the front, where they’ve changed the grille to be more aggressive, with a deeper opening and a notch in the middle.
Lamborghini has also fitted it with slightly revised headlights which adopt the Y-shaped design of other supercars. Also, there are a couple of vents to the sides of the hood, which is now made from carbon fiber to save weight.
You can order it fully painted or have some carbon showing, like on the Range Rover Sport SVR. The Performante can be had with a carbon fiber roof, while the splitter, intakes, wheel arches, and rear spoiler are made of carbon fi… well, you get the idea. These changes help towards the 104 lbs (47 kg) weight reduction
Elsewhere, the Performante is basically tuned compared to the Urus. It sits 20mm (0.8 inches) closer to the ground and has a 16mm-wider (0.6 inches) track. The new wheels are not only cool (22- and 23-inch), but they’re also lighter.
Power gains are a little disappointing
We know the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 can easily be tuned, with several companies achieving close to 1000 hp. But Lamborghini needs to follow regulations, and the Performante’s power has only increased by 16 hp to 657 hp (666 PS) while torque stays the same. The Akrapovic titanium exhaust system they fitted can probably deliver that extra hp by itself.
We think they were actually trying to make this more fun to drive and worthy of the Lambo badge. The super-SUV has a new steering system with more “precise inputs and direct feedback.” It also receives a new differential and updated drive modes, including a Rally setting where it’s supposed to oversteer and be playful.
Lamborghini has just made the 20,000th example of the Urus and has upgraded its customization options with the Performante. You’ll notice the dash is wrapped in Alcantara, which reminds me of the Gallardo Super Trofeo for some reason. But just check out that green paint! It’s called Verde Viper and it looks a whole lot like Porsche GT3 green or maybe Signal Green.
On sale this year, the Urus Performante will start from $260,676 in the United States, and €218,487 in Europe.
