Lamborghini has combined the Urus SE's plug-in hybrid powertrain with its latest motorsport learnings to create the new Urus SE Performante, an 800bhp super-SUV that benefits not only from grip-boosting aerodynamics but also new physics-fighting chassis technology.
Blending twin-turbocharged V8 power with an electric motor and new dual-chamber air suspension, the SE Performante has more explosive power and better body control than the old, purely petrol-powered Performante. Even so, the claims of a 3.3sec 0-62mph time and a 50% reduction in body roll tell only half the story.
With a 25.9kWh battery nestled under the boot floor, this Urus is a PHEV with a 37-mile EV range, and while that has inevitably led to a weight gain, it’s also slipperier through the air than before. Aerodynamic additions include a larger front splitter beneath a wider grille, which is shaped to reduce lift as well as force more air over the engine. S-duct air intakes, Naca ducts and slits in the bodywork cool components including the carbon-ceramic brakes.
The side bears more prominent skirts, while the rear gains a bigger spoiler and new rear wing, which work together to generate downforce. Despite the rear’s muscle, it’s the front that generates most of the SE Performante’s 14% of extra downforce. But key to its efficiency is that these changes also help to enable a 3% reduction in aerodynamic drag. As far as the air is concerned, this is a more slender car than before.
That said, tracks that are stretched by 16mm means it’s definitely wider on the road, with new 22in and 23in wheels enhancing the Urus’s already muscular stance under a set of carbonfibre wheel arches. But like all of the other visible additions, there’s a performance purpose to the changes, the engineers having been freed to pursue more mechanical grip by the boosted body control coming from the air suspension.
