“Put it in Rally mode” is not one thing I ever anticipated to listen to whereas firing up the engine of a $265,000 Lamborghini. However I additionally by no means anticipated to be pointing the nostril of a Lambo down a muddy two-track path.
Rally mode is a brand new characteristic for the 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante that lets the SUV’s rear axle dwell slightly, permitting it to slide extra freely as you whip round slick hairpins. It is a hilarious method to expertise this shaper, lighter, faster model of the Urus, nevertheless it’s solely a part of what makes the brand new Performante so rad.
| Fast Stats | 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante |
| Engine: | Twin-Turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 |
| Output: | 657 Horsepower / 627 Pound-Toes |
| 0-60 MPH: | 3.3 Seconds (est.) |
| High Velocity: | 190 MPH |
| Base Value: | $260,676 + $3,995 Vacation spot |
179 Pictures
Signal Of The Beast
The Performante makes use of the identical twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 because the Urus S, making 657 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. That’s a comparatively insignificant 16-hp improve over final 12 months’s base Urus, which really goes away for 2023, however not less than this additional widens the on-paper efficiency hole between Lambo’s SUV and its company kissin’ cousin, the 591-hp Audi RS Q8. Oh, and enjoyable truth: 657 horsepower interprets to 666 CV, or the German-standard measurement for energy (additionally written PS), and one Lamborghini govt instructed me that delightfully devilish spec is not only a coincidence.
Relatively than giving the Performante an influence enhance, Lamborghini as an alternative made numerous tweaks to the Urus’ {hardware} and software program. The SUV’s eight-speed computerized transmission is reprogrammed to shift faster, making the massive, steering column-mounted paddles much more satisfying to make use of. The throttle can also be extra responsive, supplying you with extra chew at preliminary tip-in, and the retuned Torsen heart differential actively sends extra torque to the rear axle. All of this ends in a Lamborghini-estimated 0-to-62-mph time of three.3 seconds, giving the Performante a 0.2-second lead over the Urus S regardless of having almost similar output figures.
Additionally contributing to the Performante’s quickness is a 104-pound weight discount, largely due to the elevated use of carbon fiber within the physique, most notably on the roof and hood. The Performante’s new titanium exhaust is each louder and lighter, as properly, and the model-specific light-weight wheels minimize about 14 kilos of unsprung mass.
These titanium pipes actually enhance the Urus’ aural high quality, particularly within the coronary heart of the engine’s powerband – particularly, between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm. Stomp on the accelerator after sliding the Urus by way of a muddy nook and the shouty exhaust will accompany you all the way in which to the subsequent flip, actually amping up the visceral pleasure of Rally mode. That stated, I want the Urus wasn’t so shy about placing down full energy whereas countersteering – one thing you will do so much whereas sliding round a mud monitor. However hey, not less than the Performante feels like absolutely the enterprise. It appears killer kicking up dusty rooster tails, too.
Lamborghini did not change the Performante’s steering tune, holding the identical 13.1:1 ratio because the Urus S. Direct and weighty, the Urus’ steering offers you loads of information concerning how a lot grip is accessible at every nook, a essential bit of information in an effort to determine simply how exhausting you possibly can push this 4,740-pound porker.
Elective 285/40 entrance and 325/35 rear Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires are a boon for dealing with, hardly ever letting go on heat pavement, whereas normal carbon-ceramic discs with 10-piston aluminum entrance calipers kill velocity with speedy surefootedness. Rear-axle steering helps the Urus rotate by way of corners, and extra aggressive lateral torque-vectoring helps ship energy to the tire that wants it most.
The Performante’s entrance and rear tracks are six-tenths of an inch wider, and it sits eight-tenths decrease to the bottom than the Urus S. Extra importantly, Lamborghini ditched the adaptive air suspension and fitted the Performante with static metal springs as an alternative. The corporate says this improves the general dealing with with out killing the on-road journey. I completely agree with that first half, however I will should take Lambo’s phrase for the latter, since my check drive was restricted to the tarmac (and grime) contained in the partitions of Italy’s Autodromo Vallelunga motorsports complicated. Not that I might’ve wished to drive this factor by way of Rome site visitors, anyway. Yikes.
Unquestionably A Lamborghini
On public roads, the entrance seats will seemingly be a lot comfy, however man I do I want that they had extra facet bolstering to maintain me from bouncing round on the monitor. The Urus Performante has Alcantara material completely in all places, together with the seats, and you’ll select between a bench or a pair of buckets within the second row. Behind that, the Performante has simply 21.7 cubic ft of cargo area, so a House Depot hauler it’s not.
The remainder of the cabin is rather like another Urus, that means the middle stack is a large number of toggles and levers and buttons and screens. However fortunately, these shows home a reworked model of Audi’s properly responsive and endlessly practical MMI multimedia software program. The digital gauge cluster additionally appears nice with its Lambo-specific drive mode shows and hella edgy fonts.
Talking of edgy, the Urus’ design continues to be, as an example, polarizing. However not less than designers touched up the entrance fascia and removed these horrible painted grille veins – , those that regarded like tuning forks. A spoiler atop the hatch accounts for a 38-percent enchancment in rear-end downforce and does not look too gaudy, both. Total, Lamborghini says the Urus Performante has a 10-percent enchancment in aero effectivity, not that this interprets to any significant enchancment in gas economic system. You are 14 mpg metropolis, 19 mpg freeway and 16 mpg mixed, assuming you drive this factor with a light-weight foot, which, come on.
Hefty gas payments aren’t actually an issue for Urus consumers, in fact; this SUV begins at $264,671 together with a $3,995 vacation spot cost, and that is earlier than you go wild with Lamborghini’s in depth personalization catalog. As for rivals, Porsche has the closest rival within the 641-hp, $190,150 Cayenne Turbo GT, which is absolutely stinkin’ good, however Lamborghini house owners aren’t precisely cross-shopping. (Cannot determine? Simply get each.)
Absurd as that MSRP might sound for us mere mortals, it is precisely what you’d count on for an Italian supercar. The Urus Performante may be an SUV, nevertheless it presents a correctly unique driving expertise. Apart from, what number of different supercars actively encourage you to hit the grime?
