Inside The Engineering Of The Fastest SUV

The Urus used to be the Lamborghini you bought when you wanted one car to do everything and still start an argument at breakfast. The Urus SE Performante changes that. Lamborghini decided a super SUV should be quick, loud, high-riding, and usable, then set a lap time. The result is a plug-in hybrid, four-door vehicle with a battery and enough ground clearance for real roads to be conquered with serious pace.

Forty years ago, Lamborghini created the concept of the Super SUV with the legendary LM002. In 2012, we remained faithful to our spirit of innovation by unveiling the Urus concept, once again redefining the boundaries of the segment. Today, with Urus SE Performante, we are taking the concept of the Super SUV to its peak. This model represents the highest level of performance, driving precision and emotional engagement ever achieved by Urus, while preserving the versatility and everyday usability that have established it as a benchmark in its segment. Urus SE Performante is the result of Lamborghini’s relentless approach to innovation and performance, combining state-of-the-art hybrid technology, advanced vehicle dynamics and a design language that conveys its character at first sight. It is the ultimate expression of the Super SUV
– Stephan Winkelmann, CEO, Automobili Lamborghini

The sharpest Urus

Lamborghini frames the SE Performante as the next step in the family tree. The Urus production car arrived in 2017 and promptly became one of the company’s most important models. In 2022, the range widened with the S and Performante derivatives, then the SE arrived in 2024 as the electrified pillar of the family. This new SE Performante version sits on top of that ladder and looks determined to stay there for a while.

Under the skin, the recipe is the familiar 4,0-litre twin-turbo V8 working with a permanent-magnet electric motor. The electric motor sits ahead of the gearbox, so it can shove the V8 harder and earlier, rather than waiting for the turbos and transmission to sort themselves out. Peak output lands at 596 kW, with 1 000 N.m of twist available from as low as 2 000 r/min.

The battery is a 25,9 kWh lithium-ion pack mounted under the load floor. This helps keep the center of gravity low and also gives the Urus SE Performante more than 60 km of electric range. The eight-speed automatic has been recalibrated for quicker responses, while software changes cut delay and sharpen throttle reaction. In a car like this, hesitation is the enemy.

The net result of those outputs makes the Urus SE Performante the fastest Super SUV in the world: 0–100 km/h in 3,3 seconds, 0–200 km/h in 10,8 seconds, and a top speed of 312 km/h, which is proper supercar territory.

Click here to read about Lamborghini’s SUV history.

Carbon fibre galore

The bodywork changes are not just for visual drama. Lamborghini has used carbon-fibre more heavily than on any previous Urus, and almost every new panel earns its keep. The bonnet is new, the front and rear bumpers are new, and two rear spoilers work in concert. The bonnet carries a central power dome, a neat nod to older Lamborghini design language, while the front gets an omega-shaped graphic signature and larger air intakes that feed both the look and the radiators.

Design director Mitja Borkert: “With the Urus SE Performante we give shape to driving emotions. While the Urus SE represents the elegant face of sportiness, the Urus SE Performante design is purely inspired by performance and our philosophy ‘We give adrenaline a shape.’ To emphasize the vehicle’s supersport character, we decided to expose more carbon-fiber elements, both on the exterior and inside the cabin.”

There is also a wider stance, 23-inch wheels with intersecting Y-spoke detailing, and carbon-fibre treatment around the wheel arches. At the back, the car wears a taller integrated spoiler, a wing with obvious motorsport cues, and the largest diffuser ever fitted to an Urus. Hexagonal Countach-inspired shapes finish the tail without making it look like a parts-bin experiment.

All that aero is not only theatre. Compared with the standard Urus SE, drag drops by 3 percent, while downforce rises by 23 percent. Compared with the old Urus Performante, the new car carries 16 percent more downforce even though it matches the earlier car’s drag figures. Up front, the splitter increases front axle downforce by 22 percent, and Lamborghini says the rear load stays the same as before. Brake cooling is improved by 8 percent over the SE thanks to a dedicated NACA duct that channels air to the discs and calipers. Hood vents act as an S-Duct, fender outlets and enlarged wheel-arch vents help the hybrid system breathe, and the underbody gets a cleaner airflow path in the process.

Rally mode?

Lamborghini says its new dual-chamber air suspension halves body roll at speed and cuts vibration by 25 percent compared with the previous Urus Performante. That is a better trade than most performance SUVs manage, because stiffness alone is easy. Control with some comfort left in reserve is harder.

The drivetrain keeps the old Sant’Agata trick of making all-wheel drive feel mischievous. An electronically controlled central clutch works with a self-locking rear differential to shuffle torque continuously, and the car can still be persuaded into on-demand oversteer – NOICE!. People will pretend not to care about that until the first damp roundabout or empty slip road appears.

Rally mode is the new addition here, sitting alongside the regular: Strada, Sport, Corsa, and EV. It tells you Lamborghini is not simply building a fast school-run machine with a fancy badge. Loose surfaces were part of the engineering brief, and the SE Performante is set up to handle them with the same seriousness it brings to tarmac.

The cabin carries the same split personality. It is still a luxury interior, but the emphasis is more focused, more driver-centred, more in line with Lamborghini’s Feel like a Pilot idea. There is a 12,3-inch digital instrument cluster, a new 12.3-inch central screen with updated HMI graphics inspired by the Revuelto, and a revised centre console layout. Centro Stile has also reworked the air vents, added Y-shaped anodised aluminium details, fresh upholstery for the seats, panels and dashboard, and an aviation-style mechanical button panel.

A new steering wheel with a carbon-fibre bezel completes the job. It sounds like a small part, but in a car this expensive and this fast, the wheel is the first thing your hands judge. Lamborghini knows that. So does anyone who has ever driven a proper performance SUV hard enough to understand where the compromises live