If the 641-hp Lamborghini Urus wasn’t enough, Lamborghini has got the new “Super SUV” for you with the 2023 Urus Performante. The Performante sees a slight bump in output to 656 hp, an even wider wheel track, and more aggressive aero. More obviously, however, it doubles down on the angry styling the base model was already famous for.
The Performante drops 103 pounds of heft from the base model through the use of extensive carbon fiber; Lamborghini claims that the Performante now boasts the most carbon-fiber parts of any high-performance production SUV. The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 gets a titanium Akrapovič exhaust standard, allowing it to breathe a bit easier and shaving .1 second off its 0-60 time, launching the four-door SUV to 60 MPH in just 3.3 seconds. The chassis gets minor tweaks, as well, and now sits 20 mm lower and has a 16 mm wider track.
That absolutely wild-looking aero confers more than just machismo; it offers performance benefits, too, with a 38% increase in rear downforce thanks to the gargantuan carbon-fiber wing out back and an overall 8% increase in downforce. If you’re a bit more worried about country-club impressions than handling proclivity, the Performante’s got you covered there too, with optional 23-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tires. Interestingly, Lamborghini also boasts of the addition of Rally Mode to the Urus Performante’s driving software, which it says changes the dynamic “anti-roll and damping systems optimized for steel springs” to induce more oversteer on “extreme surfaces”, but I find it extremely hard to believe anyone is going to Michèle Mouton their way through the Tuscany countryside on 23-inch wheels. I would love to be proven wrong, however.
Inside, buyers will find black Alcantara as standard, with a Performante-exclusive hexagonal stitch pattern in the center section of the bucket seats. If that’s not obvious enough, however, Lamborghini can spell it out for you with plenty of stitched-in written reminders that yes, this is a Performante. All of this clocks in for U.S. buyers at a base price of $260,676 before delivery. Lamborghini says that the first customer deliveries will take place before the end of 2022, so if one of you orders one, I’ll be expecting that rally-mode video right around then, thank you!