Lamborghini Urus 2023: hardcore Performante variant revealed with 306km/h top speed, 490kW of power

Lamborghini has made the Urus even more unhinged with 490kW of power and 47kg of weight reduction

Lamborghini has made its core SUV offering even hotter, with less weight and more power than the standard Urus.

Although power has risen just 11kW over the ‘standard’ Lamborghini Urus, weight has dropped by 47kg, which doesn’t sound like much but is said to allow the new Urus Performante to achieve the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.3 seconds.

That’s 0.3 seconds faster than before, an impressive feat considering the Urus Performante weighs 2150kg (kerb).

Lamborghini Urus Perfomante side green — The Lamborghini Urus Perfomante is a serious SUV missile

While not confirmed just yet, it is very likely that Australia will receive the new Urus Performante. It’ll cost £170,260 (AUD$377,690 at the time of writing), however it will likely be much more expensive than a regular Urus (currently from $390,000).

The Urus competes with its blood relative, the Audi RSQ8, as well as the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT coupe and the BMW X5 M Competition in the ultra-fast SUV game.

What’s new for the Urus Performante variant?

Lamborghini Urus Perfomante interior side — Inside the Lamborghini Urus Perfomante

For starters, the Performante version of the Lamborghini Urus is much more aggressive in its design, with deep cuts in the bonnet, a new front bumper and optional carbon-fibre roof available for the very first time.

The Performante is 20mm lower than the standard car, along with a 16mm wider wheel track and wider carbon-fibre wheel arches allowing Lamborghini to fit 23-inch wheels to the Urus.

The Performante is 25mm longer than the standard Urus thanks to a prominent front and rear wing setup.

Lamborghini Urus Perfomante green lightroom — The green certainly pops on the new Urus Performante

A Performante with stacks of performance

The twin-turbocharged V8 engine now breathes a little better thanks to a standard titanium Akrapovic exhaust system.

The engine itself is a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged unit with 490kW of power and 850Nm of torque. The big brute powers all-four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

A new differential has also been introduced that Lamborghini says delivers “optimised torque distribution”. All-wheel steering is standard on the Performante.

Lamborghini Urus Perfomante side wheel detail — Huge 23-inch wheels are available on the new Urus Performante

Several drive modes are standard on the Performante, including Strada which offers a “comfortable and luxurious ride”, Sport which gives enhanced throttle response and oversteer characteristics, and Corsa which offers “supreme handling”.

A rally mode is also available that “elevates the super SUV’s fun-to-drive sportiness to a thrilling new level”.