Just two years after its debut at Monterey Car Week 2022, the Lamborghini Urus Performante is being replaced by the new plug-in hybrid Urus SE.
Top Gear recently caught up with Lamborghini CTO Rouven Mohr to discuss the thinking behind the hybrid Urus SE where Mohr confirmed that it is “important to understand this car is replacing the Urus S and Performante, so in the future, you can only order this, the Urus SE.”
The Urus Performante was designed with performance in mind, even setting a Pikes Peak record. It had steel springs instead of air suspension and a special Rally Mode for off-road fun. The Urus S, on the other hand, prioritized comfort with its air suspension and focus on everyday driving, despite having the same power increase as the Performante.
Mohr, assures us that the Urus SE can deliver the best of both worlds. “This car is an all-rounder and it’s even more comfortable [than the Urus S] because we’ve done a complete recalibration of the air suspension. If you put the SE on the same tyre, it’s faster than the Urus Performante, its track times are close to the Performante and it’s more fun because we can run much more rear wheel drive.” he mentioned.
Lamborghini’s goal with the hybrid system was to ensure consistent performance, no matter how many times you drive the same road. “There are hybrids on the market – I won’t name names – where the hybrid system completely changes the performance strategy. They have an additional e-motor with two gears, and depending on which gear is engaged, you have different acceleration behaviour.” But for Lamborghini, “There should be no thermal derating, no depleting of the battery. The performance has to be consistent, so if you drive the same corner 233 times, the perception of the behavior of the car has to be the same.”
With all their focus now on the Urus SE, Lamborghini is pushing forward with its plan to hybridize all its models by the end of the year. Rumours suggest a future high-performance Urus, possibly called the Urus Super Veloce and packing over 800 horsepower could eventually arrive.