Lamborghini Urus Performante caught again with mystery powerplant

We’ve just caught the new Lamborghini Urus Performante testing again and it looks set to take the Italian supercar manufacturer’s sole SUV to new heights.  

These new spy shots come at an interesting time for Lamborghini. The firm has just announced it’ll put its first all-electric car – previewed by the 2023 Lanzador concept car – on hold. So if you want a Lamborghini that isn’t the new Temarario or Revuelto, you’ll be left with the Urus – until its replacement arrives in 2029. 

Lamborghini has yet to confirm the name of this Urus we caught testing, but it shares similar tweaks to the old Performante and will certainly occupy the same spot at the top of the SUV’s line-up. That’ll make it a rival for other super-SUVs including the V12-powered Ferrari Purosangue, 193mph Aston Martin DBX 707 and the outlandish Mercedes-AMG G 63 - which is available on the Auto Express Buy A Car service. 

The new Urus Performante features aero upgrades that hint at a possible upgraded powertrain. The front wears the same face as the Urus SE, with its new headlights and fresh bumper shape. We can see an extra lip below and the intakes appear to have been restyled, but there’s no louvred bonnet, as was the case on the last Performante. 

The profile looks unchanged from the SE, with what looks to be the same monstrous brake set-up with 10-piston calipers sitting over 440mm drilled discs at the front. The rear gains a roof spoiler similar to what was seen on the Performante, and potentially a reshaped rear bumper, too. This test car features a full interior too, in place of the roll cage and bucket seats we saw previously on the car when it was being put through its paces at the Nurburgring in Germany.

The changes will certainly help stand this version apart from the regular Urus, but there should be some performance improvements too. The old Performante’s aero kit provided a 38 per cent increase in downforce over the rear axle, while there was also a 20mm lower ride height, wider track widths and a 47kg weight reduction. We expect similar results on the new car.

Although we expect this to be a more potent version of the Urus SE, we’re not certain what power output is in store. The latest Urus SE features a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 like the old Urus, although it’s gained a plug-in hybrid system for a total of 788bhp - still a significant bump over the old Performante’s 657bhp twin-turbo V8. 

15

The electrical warning stickers on the new car’s camouflage have now gone, but we still expect electrification in the form of a plug-in hybrid. The old Performate was only 16bhp up on the original Urus, so perhaps a steady incline in power over the SE is in store. 

Considering that the Urus is expected to remain on sale until 2029, this engine will have to adhere to Euro 7 emissions regulations, which come into force in November 2026. BMW was in a similar situation with its M5 plug-in hybrid recently, with the result that they recalibrated the electric motor, “improved exhaust re-treatment” and revised the combustion cycle to meet the emissions targets while keeping the same combined power output of 717bhp. 

Whether or not Lamborghini is able to go down a similar route for its new hot Urus remains to be seen - as does the pricing. The current Urus SE costs from around £208,000 and with the old Performance commanding a £20,000 premium, we expect the new model to be in the region of £230,000, at least. 

Tell us which new car you’re interested in and get the very best offers from our network of over 5,500 UK dealers to compare. Let’s go…