Lamborghini Urus Performante Review - A Dalliance With The Devil's Favourite Raging Bull

oi-Jobo Kuruvilla

By Jobo Kuruvilla

Updated: Friday, March 10, 2023, 10:20 [IST]

Lamborghini has never been known for playing by the rules. The supercar manufacturer was reportedly formed after Enzo Ferrari insulted its founder Ferruccio Lamborghini when he complained about the former's cars.

The brand, best known by the raging bull on its logo was the first of the Italian supercar brands to travel down the SUV path with the vehicle affectionately known as 'Rambo Lambo' - the LM 002 - in the late 1980s.

However, when the Sant'Agata Bolognese-based marque took the covers off the production Urus SUV in late 2017, five years after it debuted as a concept, the 'purists' were outraged.

Derided at first for being nothing but an Audi Q7 or a Porsche Cayenne in a Lambo suit due to its underpinnings and twin-turbo V8 powerplant, the Urus has captured the public's imagination like no other Lambo before it.

With sales at an all-time high and other brands following the footsteps of the Urus, the Raging Bull marque ushered in a new era of performance SUVs despite the moans and groans of the 'purists' and their followers that quack on command like ducklings behind a mama duck.

Lamborghini's response to this quacking criticism has been nothing short of what we have come to expect of the marque from the Sant'Agata Bolognese marque.

Showing the raging middle finger to its critics, Lamborghini updated the Urus lineup last year by bringing out 'two' versions of the updated SUV - Urus S & Urus Performante. While the former was a slightly updated version of the OG Urus, the latter was a big flaming middle finger to the critics of the super SUV.

Lamborghini only slaps the 'Performante' badge on its lightweight and more powerful special edition supercars. So to justify putting the badge on its 'Super SUV' and of course to trigger its critics, the Urus Perf dropped 47 kilos and gained an extra 16hp to raise its power to a devilishly diabolical 666hp.

The new Urus Performante is a leaner and meaner (can't say anything about greener and we doubt Lambo will care anyway) and has a new offroading mode - Rally - for a bit more fun off the beaten path and is a big flaming hot riposte to those who wish the performance SUV never existed.

So when Lamborghini decided to drop into Bangalore and invited us to experience the Devil's favourite Raging Bull, we were more than happy to sign our souls away for a chance to get behind the wheel of the maddest, flame-spitting version of the Urus to date...

Lamborghini Urus Performante Design - The Sharp End Of the Flaming Stick

The OG Urus was a 'proper' Lamborghini when it came to the styling department, which means it was as crazy as the marque could make an SUV.

The Urus was sharp, and edgy and turned heads wherever it went ensuring that all eyes were on it alone. The performante builds on that OG design refining it by taking it to a whole new level of insanity.

The Urus Performante features a revised front bumper with a new air curtain and even more vents to cool the flaming V8 behind it. Access to the twin-turbocharged powerplant requires lifting the bonnet which is now made from carbon fibre and features vents to keep the diabolical little psycho cool.

The Performante features some rather snazzy new wheels as well as carbon fibre side skirts and a new wing at the rear with side fins made from the same lightweight material. The Urus Perf's diffuser is also made from carbon fibre and the four tailpipes sticking out of either side of the rear bumper are the loud ends of a lightweight titanium exhaust system from Akrapovic.

The interiors of the new Performante are quite similar to that of the OG Urus. However, you get quite a lot of Alcantara including on the roof headliner. The seats feature hexagonal stitching.

These seat highlights along with the new graphics on the touchscreen infotainment and the new Rally option on the mode selector is how you'll distinguish the Perf from other Urus models.

Lamborghini Urus Performante Specs - Flaming Mad Bull Anyone?

The Lamborghini Urus Performante is powered by the most powerful version of the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The engine pushes out 666hp (657bhp) at 6,000rpm and 850Nm of peak torque from 2,250 to 4,500rpm. Power is sent to all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The Urus Performante sports a new active chassis setup with 48V active anti-roll bars. The lightweight performance SUV also features rear-wheel steering and new coil-spring suspension replacing the older, heavier air suspension setup which has lowered the ride height by 20mm.

The Urus Perf rides on some snazzy alloys (22 or optional 23 inches) that are shod with sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R semi-slick tyres - a first from Pirelli for an SUV.

Lamborghini claims that the Urus Performante sprints from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds with 200km/h taking 11.5 seconds. The top speed of the Urus is rated at 308km/h. The Urus Performante is 5,137mm long, 2,026mm wide, and 1,618mm tall and features a 3,006mm long wheelbase. The Lamborghini Urus Performante weighs in at 2,150kg.

Lamborghini Urus Performante Driving Experience - Dirty Dancing With The Devil

For our dalliance with the devil's favourite SUV, Lamborghini had laid out two defined driving courses for us to experience the Urus Performante.

The road course saw us hurtling up and down Nandi hills from our base, a total of around 36 kilometres which saw us drive the super SUV on the highway and the steep, hairpin-infused roads dotting the aforementioned Nandi Hills.

The sticky Trofeo R tyres along with the lowered coil-over suspension setup mean that the Urus Performante feels extremely planted on the road and while a bit on the stiffer side doesn't get too bothered by bad roads or ruts.

Putting the foot down allows the demonic twin-turbo V8 to vent its fury at the world, especially with the custom EGO mode engaged on the anima. The throttle response is blisteringly quick and leaves almost everyone else on the roads as a spec in the mirrors.

Once on the twisty narrow roads that snaked up Nandi Hills, the Urus Perf's rear-wheel steering and the sticky rubber allowed us to really push the 'Super SUV' through the hairpins.

The second part of the experience saw us driving a couple of laps around the under-construction course at Bren Raceway. The current unfinished nature of the course means that has quite a bit of loose sand and gravel while the sweeping curves really allowed you to experience the tail-happy nature of the SUV in the new off-roading 'Rally' mode.

In this mode, the majority of the power is sent to the rear wheels by the Urus Performante's all-wheel-drive system and it allows you to execute rally-style drifts on the dirt that leave you with a smile on your face.

However, once you get used to the rear-biased Rally mode and learn to control the drift with a bit of opposite lock and some right-footed control, the Urus Performante is an absolute hoot to drive.

To be fair, the SUV allows you to play the hero and live out a few Colin McRae video game dreams in real life despite the road-biased Trofeo R tyres while the electronic nannies ensure that it all doesn't end up a demonic nightmare.

Final Thoughts About The Lamborghini Urus Performante - Devilisihly Diabolical Deliciousness

The Lamborghini Urus Performante is more than just a loudmouth in a fancy suit. Lighter, mean and angrier than ever before, this Urus Performante really does ignite the urge to look for a good dirt track to throw some dust into the air.

Add in some rather nice road manners with a bit of devilish fun from the exhaust thrown in and the Lamborghini Urus Performante is the performance SUV to buy provided you have the money to match your brashness with its.