No one would deny that the Lamborghini Urus is a very impressive vehicle. Sure, while it still feels a little weird that Lamborghini is producing an SUV, the fact remains that the Urus has boosted interest in the brand and the broader super SUV market.
Given the success of the standard model, it came as no surprise when in August last year, Lamborghini unveiled the new Urus Performante variant. It takes inspiration from the Lamborghini Huracan Performante with which it shares its name and benefits from a handful of upgrades designed to boost its performance.
For example, the Italian marque has tweaked the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 so that it now produces 657 hp and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm), 16 hp more than the standard model. It also sits lower to the ground, produces more downforce, and weighs 47 kg (104 lbs) less. How much of an impact do these changes have on the car’s performance? That’s what this video reveals.
First up, CarWow pitted the Urus against the Urus Performante for a drag race from a standing start. In the first of the races held, the driver of the standard model gets the better launch and is able to maintain a lead for the entire quarter mile. The second race is quite different as it was the Performante that got the better launch and it ended up winning. In the third and final race, both models get off the line at almost exactly the same time but as the race progressed, the less powerful standard model somehow started to pull ahead, finishing the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds compared to the 11.7 seconds of the Performante.
Some rolling races are then held and with the SUVs left in automatic mode, the Urus Performante storms ahead and takes the win but the roles are reversed in the second race as the standard model takes a comfortable victory.
What’s the moral of the story? Well, it seems that the performance changes made to the Performante are so minor that it doesn’t really accelerate any quicker.
