We Drive the 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante on Both a Racetrack and a Rally Course

• Lighter (barely) than the standard Urus, the Performante packs 657 hp, an increase of 16 hp.
• Subtle restyling includes copious amounts of carbon fiber.
• It uses steel springs instead of an air suspension.
• Starting at $260,676 (not including destination), it'll be available winter 2022.

The look and feel

The Urus isn't lacking attention-getting styling. And while it might seem a bit of a wasted effort to give it even more aggressive styling, Lamborghini has followed many of the cues from the Huracan Performante and the angriest of bulls, the legendary Aventador, to shape the Performante's new look.

Changes are subtle and mainly revolve around the front and rear bumpers. Those changes aren't simply stylistic and serve to channel airflow to the benefit of the cooling, aerodynamics or both. There's more downforce, as well as less lift at high speeds, and Lamborghini claims a 10% increase in overall aero efficiency.

From the front splitter to the hood and various body panels, there's a fair bit of carbon fiber and composite material used on the Performante as well. Of course it looks cool, and along with other lighter-weight components, it serves to help the Performante drop about 103 pounds when compared to the standard Urus. At an estimated curb weight of 4,740 pounds, it's still a beefy boy, but 100 pounds is still a substantial amount of mass to shave off while keeping all of the standard luxuries of the Urus. And every little bit helps.

Carbon fiber is also utilized inside the Performante as is a copious amount of faux suede. There's new stitching on the seats, different trim options from the standard Urus, and a new design for the digital instrument panel. It mimics the arching tachometer display you see in the Huracan, and we like it not just because it's cool but because it's easier to read at a quick glance.

Performance hardware

Usually, extra performance is handled by the lump under the hood, but the Urus Performante's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 sees only a slight improvement in power. With 657 horsepower, a gain of 16 hp, most drivers will never be able to notice a difference between last year's Urus and the new Performante. If anything is to be noticed, it's the extra bark produced by the titanium Akrapovič exhaust system, which alone saves more than 20 pounds over the previous piping.

Perhaps the biggest performance news is the Performante's use of steel springs in place of the adaptive air suspension from the previous model. Lamborghini is adamant the steel springs offer more predictability than an air suspension as well as more direct responses to the driver. The shock absorbers are adaptive and have presets for road, sporty driving, track driving and even a rally setting. Active anti-roll bars are also part of the equation and help to keep the Performante flat and stable through corners.

The Performante's handling also benefits from a 20-millimeter (that's about 0.8-inch) lower ride height, a wider track (the distance between the left and right side wheels) and rear-wheel steering. Torque vectoring is also in play on the Performante and aids the driver by helping to apply the Urus' prodigious 627 lb-ft of torque to the ground with maximum efficiency. Pirelli has also developed a new tire specifically for the Performante. In addition to the standard P Zero tire, there's a ultra-high-performance Trofeo R tire that maximizes the Performante's grip on a racetrack while remaining street-legal. While we didn't have the chance to drive this tire in wet conditions, we'd probably advise against it.

The Performante also sees some aerodynamic improvements in the pursuit of more performance. Both front and rear bumpers have been redesigned for better air management and the rear of the Performante now sports a small rear spoiler that Lamborghini claims provides a 34% increase in downforce.

The real-world application

To our dismay, there was no chance to drive the Urus Performante on public roads, but when the trade-off involves a racetrack and a rally course, we can't say we were too disappointed. Clearly, the modifications done to the Performante are at their best on a racetrack and the Urus has been transformed from a super SUV that you could take to the track to a super SUV that you absolutely should take to the track.

Shod with the optional Pirelli Trofeo R tires, the Urus Performante deserves far more track credit than you might be initially inclined to give it. Of course the power is certainly impressive, but it's the nimbleness and the stability that proved to be the hallmarks of the many engineering tweaks. The improved center differential helps to send more power to the rear wheels where the rear axle's torque-vectoring system (it can send power to either side of the car depending on traction requirements) combined with the rear-axle steering help the Performante feel considerably lighter and shorter than its visual dimensions would suggest.

Another trait of the Urus Performante is its low-effort steering. This is a trademark that carries over from the Huracan, and at first touch it can feel almost too light. But after several laps charging around a racetrack, the light steering feels more like a relief than anything else. There's still plenty of feel on offer from the front tires, but instead of the steering feeling too heavy in the Performante's Corsa driving mode (that's the Track mode), the Urus remains light and easy to handle despite its impressive cornering speeds.

Carbon-ceramic brakes, standard on the Performante, measure a faintly ridiculous 17.3 inches up front and 14.6 inches out back. The front brakes' 10-piston calipers are roughly the size of our shoes but it's hard to argue with their effectiveness. After three lapping sessions on a quick racetrack, we experienced no fade and the brakes maintained their impressive stopping power and easy modulation.

A welcome surprise to the Performante is the way it rides over bumps and manages its considerable heft around a racetrack. We firmly (there's a suspension pun) believe the switch from air springs to traditional steel springs brings the most benefit here. The steel springs lack the on-the-fly adaptability of the air springs (the shock absorbers are adaptive) but go about their business with more predictability all the while providing a better line of communication form the road to the driver. We've found air springs to be quite the opposite in other high-performance vehicles: overly stiff and lacking in critical feel at the limit.

But Lamborghini would like you to know the Urus Performante is just as home on a dirt road as it is on a paved one. Our brief time in the Performante also found us on a dirt rally track egging the Urus on to get more and more sideways. With its newly developed Rally mode, the Performante is more than happy to carry some fairly lurid angles at some fairly lurid speeds — and that's with the traction and stability systems engaged. Credit goes to the trick differentials, rear-wheel steering and the stability control software for making this somewhat bulky bull dance through medium- and high-speed corners with just as much grace as a Subaru WRX. And, it should be noted, all of this off-road fun was had on the Performante's standard Pirelli tires mounted on 22-inch wheels. Super SUV indeed.

Edmunds says

The original Super SUV just got a bit more super. Lighter, more powerful and more adept at handling, both on- and off-road, the Urus Performante takes Lamborghini's extreme SUV on its logical next step. While many buyers will never understand the allure of a ridiculously fast track-ready SUV that starts at more than $260,000, people who are in the market for one will be hard-pressed to find something more impressive.