Clearly, NBA stars and Hollywood celebrities need to get their kids to school and the groceries home, just like the rest of us, with premium carmakers furiously adding new models to fuel a growing demand for luxurious, high-performance SUVs.
And now, the rugrats will need to be firmly strapped in and the shopping bags securely tied down, because Lamborghini has upped the ante in the go-fast SUV game with the 490kW, twin-turbo V8 Urus Performante.
Lower, wider, and lighter than the already obscenely rapid ‘base’ Urus, the Performante is claimed to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds, and reach 200km/h in 11.5sec, before storming on to a maximum velocity of 306km/h.
Power comes from an upgraded version of the Urus’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with output raised to 490kW (+12kW) while maximum torque of 850Nm is unchanged. At the same time, kerb weight has been reduced by 47kg, thanks mainly to the extended use of carbon-fibre and other composite materials in the car’s construction.
The carbon-rich treatment includes large body elements such as the bonnet, front bumper and splitter, wheel arches, rear bumper and roof-mounted wing. A lightweight titanium sports exhaust system from Slovenian specialist Akrapovič is also standard.
Prominent wings and bumpers, front and rear, increase overall length by 25mm, and Mitja Borkert, Lamborghini’s Head of Design, says the aggressively reprofiled bonnet, front splitter, and new black front air-intakes improve cooling efficiency, reduce aero drag and help increase downforce (+8.0 per cent).
The interior look and feel has also been dialled up with ‘Nero Cosmus’ black Alcantara trim featuring a new hexagonal seat stitching design. The Alcantara/leather steering wheel is trimmed in matt black, and aluminium interior trim is black anodized. Plus, a specific Performante graphic features on the centre console screen and instrument display.
Revised springs lower the Performante by 20mm, and the track has been increased front (+16mm) and rear (+8.0mm) with 22-inch forged alloy rims (with titanium bolts!) shod with specially-developed P Zero Trofeo R semi-slick rubber (285/40 front, 325/35 rear). A plus one inch step up to 23s is optionally available.
Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, the fronts featuring 10-piston monobloc alloy calipers.
Drive is delivered to all four wheels via an eight-speed auto transmission, an integrated front, Torsen type centre, and active torque vectoring rear differential. The centre diff’s ratio has been tweaked from 3.16:1 to 3.40:1 to optimise drive distribution.
Front and rear steering systems (the Urus features rear steering to +/- 3.0 degrees) have also been recalibrated for the Performante. And alongside the existing ‘Strada’, ‘Sport’, and ‘Corsa’ drive modes the Urus Performante adds a ‘Rally’ setting.
Lamborghini says Rally mode amplifies “oversteer character” with anti-roll and damper settings tuned for rough surfaces. And the Italian maker was so confident in the Urus Performante’s abilities it sent it up the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course.
The run was outside this year’s competition but timing was conducted by the event’s official team, the Urus Performante setting a new production SUV record of 10:32.064, beating the race record of 10:49.902 set by Rhys Millen in a Bentley Bentayga in 2018.
And it’s cars like the Bentayga the Urus Performante will have to conquer when it arrives in the Australian new car market possibly late this year, or more likely, the first half of 2023.
The 6.0 litre, twin-turbocharged W12 Bentayga Speed ($514,400) produces 460kW and runs 0-100km/h 3.9sec. Porsche’s twin-turbo V8 Cayenne Turbo GT ($352,700) pumps out 471kW and matches the Urus Performante’s 3.3sec 0-100km/h time, while Aston Martin’s just-released 520kW 4.0L twin-turbo V8 DBX 707 ($428,400) hits the tonne in the same 3.3 seconds. What a school drop-off drag race that would be!
And that’s not even thinking about Ferrari’s soon-to-arrive Purosangue SUV, likely to be offered with a choice of V12 (the current 812’s naturally aspirated 6.5-litre unit delivering 588kW) or hybrid V8 (the current SF90 twin-turbo hybrid V8 developing no less than 735 kW/1000hp!).
Lamborghini is yet to confirm Urus Performante pricing for Australia, but using US numbers as a guide we’re estimating a $460K price tag, before on-road costs, a roughly $70K premium over the standard Urus.
Keyword: Lamborghini takes Urus SUV from mad to bonkers with new Performante version arriving to take the fight to Aston Martin's DBX 707, Bentley Bentayga Speed, Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT and Ferrari's upcoming Purosangue