Lamborghini Urus SE Performante hits the track: 1,000 Nm and AURA air suspension

Lamborghini has given the press a first taste of the SE Performante, set to be the sharpest member of the Urus family, at its Vairano test facility in Italy. The model retains the standard Urus SE's plug-in hybrid underpinnings but has been made more track-ready through extensive changes to weight, chassis and brakes.

Power gains come from software

At the heart of the car is a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 gasoline engine. On its own, the engine produces 456 kW and 800 Nm, while an electric motor sandwiched between the engine and the eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission adds 141 kW and 483 Nm. Software updates raise total system output by 9 kW and 50 Nm over the Urus SE, to 597 kW and 1,000 Nm. Peak torque is available between 2,250 and 5,500 rpm.

According to the manufacturer, the all-wheel-drive SUV sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds. The 25.9 kWh battery provides around 60 km of electric driving, with claimed fuel consumption of 5.7 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 140 g/km. The car weighs 2,473 kg.

Lamborghini shaved 32 kg compared with the SE, mainly through carbon fiber components. The company says the SE Performante has more carbon fiber parts than any other series-production SUV. The titanium Akrapovič exhaust system is also 10 kg lighter than the standard setup.

New suspension and a sensor from the Fenomeno

The fixed coil springs of the previous Performante have given way to a dual-chamber air suspension called AURA. The system is said to halve body roll and reduce vibrations by 25 percent. Ride height can be raised by up to 70 mm for light off-road use, accompanied by a new Rally drive mode. A 6D sensor borrowed from the Fenomeno hypercar works with eight accelerometers to feed real-time data to the chassis control and braking systems.

The carbon-ceramic brakes measure 440 mm in diameter at the front and 410 mm at the rear. The manufacturer says stopping distance from 200 km/h is seven meters shorter than its predecessor's, while brake cooling efficiency has improved by 8 percent.

Inside, highlights include Lamborghini's suede-like Corsa-Tex material, red honeycomb-pattern stitching and graphics inspired by the Revuelto. The displays feature a telemetry system for tracking lap times. Because of the battery, cargo capacity is limited to 454 liters, rising to 1,596 liters with the rear seats folded.

The model is expected to go on sale in Australia in the first half of 2027, priced roughly 10 percent above the Urus SE, which costs 457,834 Australian dollars there. Early impressions praised the handling, but criticized the fact that much of the engine sound heard in the cabin is piped through the speakers.