LAMBORGHINI URUS PERFORMANTE

The best-selling Lambo packs in punch, panache and practicality in equal measure. What’s the catch?

-  BENJAMIN GRACIAS

SUVs sell like hot cakes. Even if they are multi-crore SUVs like this here - the Lamborghini Urus. In fact, the Urus is the best-selling Lamborghini. Ever. The Super SUV is sold out for 2023 and has a waiting period of 18 months! That should give you an inkling of the demand for the Urus in India. This one is the Urus Performante, a hotter track-focused take on the Super SUV. Besides offering more muscle and trimming some fat, the Performante features a new Rally mode.

It looks the part. The sportier bumper improves aero while the acres of carbon fibre help save weight that is down by 47 kilos. It sits 20mm lower and boasts wider front and rear tracks that give the SUV a squatting stance and looks even better with the new, larger 23-inch wheels. It even features a new carbon fibre rear spoiler that adds 38 percent more downforce at the back. The standard Urus looked hard as nails but the Performante looks brutal, a trait many find attractive as many necks were strained and phones pulled out as this SUV passed the narrow streets of Pune. It’s even cooler on the inside thanks to every inch of the cabin swathed in Alcantara and strategically placed red accents. The fighter jet-inspired cockpit excites even today, especially the start-stop button that sits under a red flip switch. The multiple screens offer crisp resolution and feel engaging thanks to the haptic feedback.

Fighter-jet cockpit cues aside, I was more impressed with the amount of space inside the cabin. You can seat five in utmost comfort thanks to the large supportive seats and that’s without compromising the massive 616-litre boot space. When it comes to practicality the Urus feels quite the anti-supercar.