Trust the Italians to look at something as ridiculous as the ‘regular’ Lamborghini Urus and convince themselves it wasn’t enough. That they could hone it even further. More power, better aero, lighter — the Urus Performante is no cosmetic update but a proper step up on the Urus in every department. Every part of the driving experience has been fettled with with a singular goal in mind — more speed. And consequently more thrills. The Performante exists in rarified air. It goes one step beyond the (I can’t believe I’m saying what I’m going to say) run of the mill super SUVs. Super SUV Pro Max, this is. Here are five things that make it the most extreme SUV on sale in India today.
The engine is the same base set up but it now pushes out some 16bhp more, taking the total power up to 657bhp. Convert that to PS and you’re looking at 666PS — the number of the devil. I don’t think that’s mere coincidence with what a monster the Performante is. Torque remains a healthy 850Nm and I suspect it hasn’t changed because of the limitations of the transmission. Acceleration from 0-100kmph drops from 3.6 seconds to 3.3 seconds — putting it on par with the Aston Martin DBX 707. It is, without a shred of doubt, one of the quickest SUVs on sale today.
The whole front end has been redesigned to optimise cooling and airflow, and look angrier in the process. The scoops in the bonnet are functional, while a new rear spoiler increases downforce by 38 per cent from the previous wing (8 per cent overall). However, the most significant changes have been made to the chassis — steel springs replace the air suspension, ride height is lowered by 20mm, the track is wider by 16mm. Spring and damper rates are tuned specifically for the sort of sporty driving the Performante will be doing. This is properly hardcore stuff.
There’s a liberal dose of carbonfibre on the bumpers, the side sills, the cladding and even the hood. You can spec the roof in carbon too but then you’re foregoing the sunroof — a sacrifice that I’m more than willing to make. The exhaust is also a titanium unit from Akrapovic. All in all, the Performante is a cool 47kg lighter than the standard Urus. Before you scoff, have you ever tried to lose 50kg? Thought not.
A new drive mode is added to the Urus Performante’s arsenal and it is called Rally mode. It puts the drivetrain in its most aggressive setting, the Torsen centre diff sends as much power as it can to the rear, the chassis is on high alert to deal with the aggressive weight shifting that is about to take place and ESP is told to take a hike. We drove the Urus Performante on the upcoming Bren Raceway and put rally mode to the test, and it was incredible. It needs but the slightest encouragement with the throttle to break traction. React quickly and catch it, and you’ll be rewarded with a long, 4-wheel drift that you can carry for as long as you dare. You can watch our full video where we’re pulling long, dusty drifts with the Urus Performante here!
At Rs 4.22 crore, the Lamborghini Urus Performante costs a fair bit more than the previous Urus. And this is before customers start getting their creative juices flowing with the Ad Personam customisation programme. It is going to cost a fair bit of money to acquire one and then you’ve even got to deal with the 18 month waiting period. The good news? The Urus S is on its way to our shores at Rs 3.8 crore and takes things down a notch from the Performante.