We’ll be honest, we were disappointed not to see Lamborghini’s new V12 Revuelto hybrid at the New York Auto Show this week. Having whet our appetite with its online reveal only last week, meaning interest is still riding high, the NY show seemed like the perfect opportunity for Lambo to wheel the Aventador replacement out and let us see it again from every angle.
But the Revuelto’s absence gave another couple of Lamborghinis a chance to shine. They are relatively new cars that would have been entirely overshadowed had the big 12 made it across the Atlantic and onto a show plinth, but what makes them even more interesting is that they’ve both received modifications that brings them conceptually closer together. But which does it best?
The first car is the circa $270k Huracan Sterrato, the safari-style Huracan with the tough-looking body cladding and 44 mm (1.7-inches) of additional ride height. It sounds like an unlikely mix, but against the odds Lamborghini managed to make the result not look like a complete visual disaster – unlike Subaru, whose Crosstrek Wilderness turned out to be a real dogs’ dinner.
Related: 602-HP Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Crossover Is Limited To 162 Mph, But Not To Paved Roads
The Sterrato’s off-road-ready Bridgestone Dueller All-Terrain 002 tires forced Lamborghini to limit the tallest Huracan’s top speed to 160 mph (258 kmh), and the 602 hp (609 PS) 5.2-liter V10 is in the lower state of tune as fitted to the basic RWD Huracans, whereas the road-biased Tecnica is rated at a more wholesome 630 hp (639 PS). Zero to 62 mph (100 kmh) takes 3.4 seconds, which is slower than many other supercars, but then most supercars don’t have a roof snorkel or a ‘rally’ mode for drifting around dirt tracks.
Joining the Sterrato on Lamborghini’s stand and looking about as understated as we’ve seen any example look in the model’s five-year career, is the Urus. Not just any Urus, mind, but the $230,000 Performante derivative, the more driver-focused model that stormed up Pikes Peak last year in 10:32.064 to claim a new record for production SUVs.
Capable of reaching 62 mph from rest in 3.3 seconds – yes, a tenth ahead of the Sterrato – the Urus Performante benefits from a mild power boost that takes its twin turbo V8 from 641 hp (650 PS) to 657 hp (666 PS), though torque is the same 627 lb ft (850 Nm) you get with the stock truck. Definitely not the same are the carbonfiber wheel arch extensions, vented two-color hood, huge air intakes, wider track, torque-vectoring diff and Akrapovic titanium exhaust system. There’s also a Rally mode, just like on the Sterrato.
So Huracan or Urus, which one would you pick?