You know we live in strange times when semi-slick Pirelli Trofeo R tyres are a factory-fit option for a family SUV. Will anyone really attempt a track day in their 2,150kg, £209,000 Lamborghini Urus Performante? They might want to secure shares in Pirelli first.
The Urus kicked open the door for ‘super SUVs’ four years ago and is already the best-selling Lamborghini of all time.
However, with new rivals such as the Aston Martin DBX707 and Ferrari Purosangue muscling onto its turf, the Urus has been treated to a facelift. Much like many of its owners, one suspects.
Number of the beast
The range is now split into the Urus S and Performante models. Both share the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, which musters a devilish 666hp, but the ‘S’ is more comfort-focused and the Performante is a true supercar on steroids. It hits 62mph in 3.3 seconds and recently broke Bentley’s production SUV record at the Pikes Peak hillclimb.
While the Urus S rides on air suspension, its sportier sibling uses steel springs for tighter, more linear body control. The Performante also sits 20mm closer to the ground and gains a wider track.
Carbon fibre wheelarch extensions, titanium wheel bolts and an Akrapovic exhaust system help reduce weight by a not-insignificant 47kg.
Lamborghini has recalibrated the Performante’s driving modes, and tweaked the rear-wheel steering to make it feel more alert and agile. There’s also a new Rally mode that slackens off the dampers and stability control to help you get sideways on loose surfaces.
Building bridges
Surfaces such as snow, for instance – and there’s no shortage of that falling in Copenhagen, where Lamborghini has based its Winter Drive event. Our road-trip will take us due north, tracing the coast before boarding a car ferry to Sweden. After seven hours behind the wheel, we’ll eventually return to Denmark via the famous Øresund Bridge (starting point for The Bridge TV series).
I drive the Urus S first, hoping to give the Performante some context. It’s very much an evolution of the original car, launched in 2018, with a Jekyll-and-Hyde ability to cruise in comfort, then tighten its sinews and demolish a B-road.
Sabbia (sand), Terra (dirt) and Neve (snow) modes – all absent from the Performante – make it the more capable off-roader of the duo, and a price tag of £188,000 saves you a useful £21,000.
Dial up the drama
However, if the Performante has a narrower breadth of ability, its character feels more authentic: less Ingolstadt (the Urus shares much hidden hardware with the Audi Q8) and more Sant’Agata. It looks even more aggressive, with a range of eye-popping colours to dial up the drama. Its interior is swathed sporty and very tactile Alcantara, too.
Instead of revving to the heavens like Lamborghini’s naturally aspirated supercars, the Urus delivers a 627lb ft sucker-punch of torque from just 2,300rpm, so it simply feels fast everywhere.
The V8’s voice is muted in Strada mode, but switch to Sport and it wakes up with a splenetic snarl, overlaid by volleys of explosive crackles each time you lift off.
Engage Rally mode
Ride quality is notably firmer than the ‘S’, yet still acceptable for fast family duties. And the pay-off is incredible agility; those steel springs, combined with 48-volt active anti-roll bars, make the Performante handle like an XXL hot hatchback. Maybe this mutant crossover really would feel at home on a circuit.
Sadly, that isn’t a question I can answer today. On Sweden’s snow-dusted rural roads, though, I can confirm that a Performante in Rally mode goes very, hilariously sideways indeed.
Of course, a lowered, track-oriented SUV makes no rational sense, but then neither does a high-riding, off-road supercar – and Lamborghini has just launched one of those as well. Go figure.
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