Love them or hate them, SUVs are integral to the success of a car maker. It’s something Lamborghini quickly discovered since the launch of the Urus in 2018, with this self-branded ‘super SUV’ accounting for more than 21,000 sales to date.
Though you’d think a Lamborghini SUV would be pretty extreme already – and it is – there is always scope for more, or for the ‘bar to be raised’ as the firm puts it. That idea results in the Performante. It’s a more extreme, track-focused version of this SUV, using a nameplate we’ve seen before on the fire-breathing Huracan supercar. We’ve been getting a first taste of it on the Vallelunga race track near Rome.
This is far more than Urus with a bit of extra power, as Lamborghini has been pretty extreme with the changes. The standard car’s more softly focused air suspension setup has been replaced by stiffer steel springs, giving it more of a performance focus, while also sitting 20mm lower.