Lamborghini Urus Performante - Exclusive Stories

If you look at Lamborghini’s history, you will notice one unique product that came much before its time. I’m talking about its first SUV – the LM 002. It was a product that was quite revolutionary for its time and was originally intended for military use. It was as butch as an SUV could get and was powered by a V12 engine – in short, a proper Lamborghini and not a weak attempt. Of course, as I said, it was much before the era of the SUVs took over the world, and therefore, it wasn’t much of a success for the brand.

 
Things, however, changed when Lamborghini launched the Urus. Suddenly, their hottest seller was this butch SUV that redefined what luxury and performance SUVs could look and drive like. Customers loved the butch design and performance of the Urus, and it’s no surprise that it quickly became the best-selling Lamborghini of all time. To date, Lamborghini has sold over 22,000 units of the Urus worldwide, and there is still a waiting list to get one. 

More Power!

Now, one would think that it would be enough success for a brand but not Lamborghini. Not content with what the Urus had achieved or the performance it offered, Lamborghini went ahead and created a super-Urus, so to say, and called it the Urus Performante. What is different about the Performante? Well, it looks even more butch and is lower, wider, more powerful, and, most importantly, louder – excellent improvements in my opinion! In terms of appearance, the Performante looks more aggressive than ever, thanks to its wider track and lower stance, along with the addition of generous carbon fibre bits to the bodywork. The standard fit 23-inch wheels look fantastic, and so does the titanium Akrapovic exhaust. 
The Performante’s interior is dominated by Alcantara and Carbon fibre, with an all-black finish and red detailing that adds to the overall aesthetic appeal. It gets a big haptic feedback multimedia touchscreen and physical controls for the drive modes. And, of course, there is a toggle switch with a red cover to start the car. Overall, it is the most aggressive Urus ever, and it certainly looks the part. 

Fast, fast, faster

As you hit the road, you can’t help but notice the distinctive sound of the Akrapovic exhaust. Its 657bhp and impressive 850Nm of torque make the Performante a speedster on any surface. Its all-wheel drive ensures that traction is never an issue, allowing you to confidently use the power without worrying about losing grip.

While driving it on the Nandi Hills route near Bengaluru, we also noticed that the steering is very sharp and offers a lot of feel. The exhaust banged and popped with every gearshift and really added to the overall driving experience. Honestly, the narrow roads of the Nandi Hills limited the Urus’ performance to a considerable extent, and I think that we could have gone much faster on the highway.

The other notable feature of the Urus is its ability to deal with our broken roads quite effectively, much better than you would expect from something this aggressive, despite its large 23-inch wheels. Now, you have to be cautious about the attention this car tends to attract. You would often find people trying to take selfies or videos of it – something that you have to be careful about. 

Sideways everywhere

The on-road experience of the Performante was as expected –  fast, loud, and an absolute delight to drive. However, Lamborghini India had a surprise planned for us – an opportunity to drive the Urus on a dirt race track. You see, the Performante was designed to have superior off-road capabilities, and therefore it comes with the Rally driving mode, which provides more power to the rear wheels and loosens the grip of the traction control. What does this mean when you are on a dirt track? Yup, you guessed it right – it goes everywhere absolutely sideways. All we had to do was to make sure we had enough opposite lock on, and we exited virtually every corner of the track sideways, with the glorious exhaust adding to the soundtrack. You don’t expect all this from a Lamborghini, let alone from one that’s also an SUV. Now, I had my reservation about the 23-inch wheels, but the instructor sitting beside me assured me to not worry about it and urged me to go as fast as I wanted. Driving the Urus with 23-inch wheels flat-out sideways on a dirt track without worrying about the suspension and tyres was an experience that I never thought I would have.

Now, to be honest, only a select few would be able to afford the Urus Performante – its prices start at ₹4.23 crore (ex-showroom). Interestingly, according to the Head of Lamborghini India, Sharad Agarwal, all the Performantes sold so far have been specced to cost at least ₹5.2 crore or more. And while it may be a luxury for the rich, it does offer an exhilarating and unique driving experience that few cars can match. It’s fast, loud, comfortable, and a Lamborghini that you can use every day even in India. And if you have access to a racetrack, or better still a dirt race track, it will make you feel like Michael Schumacher, giving you some of the biggest grins you can ever imagine. Truly, it offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but unfortunately, it will only be experienced by a select few people around the world.