New Drag Race Proves That the Lamborghini Urus Performante Is Very Good at… Braking?

Some say the Urus was created by the best Audi engineers who have a knack for origami and love Italian cuisine. We’ll let you be the judge because we must now dive into a more important matter – is the Performante that much better than its non-facelifted counterpart?

If you’re wondering what “SSUV” stands for, then don’t give it too much thought. It means Super Sports Utility Vehicle, which the V8-powered Lamborghini Urus is. Moreover, this term was coined by the Italian automaker particularly for this vehicle when it was shown around the world for the first time back in 2018. Industry experts, the media, enthusiasts, and other people with a keen interest in cars used to call other high-riding vehicles super SUVs, but it wasn’t until the Urus came that the “SSUV” abbreviation started being used almost everywhere.

However, the OG SSUV received an upgrade after being on the market for a little over four years. The Performante version came. Later, it was joined by the Urus S, which created a new entry-level category for the SUV with the raging bull logo. Both had the same power output, but the Performante was 104 lb (47 kg) lighter.

That being said, the nip and tuck brought forward by the Italian marque for its successful SSUV wasn’t just a shallow operation. The brand tweaked a couple of things here and there, and especially focused on improving braking!

This was proven recently in a drag race that put the old Urus versus the new and enticing Urus Performante. The power and weight difference (16 hp/16 ps and 110 lb/50 kg) between the two didn’t appear to matter much when it came to launching in a straight line for the quarter-mile (0.4 kilometers) drag race. Everything depended on the driver. Who got the better start won. Even the owner of the Performante admitted that his vehicle was unexpectedly on par with the non-facelifted Urus.

However, the updated SSUV showed that gearbox tuning can make a difference and left the old Urus way behind on a drag-and-roll race done with the comfiest settings possible enabled. But with Corsa mode enabled and the gearbox put in manual mode, the OG Urus won in a similar run.

At this point, things are pretty clear – there’s not much of a difference between these two vehicles, which are miles apart when it comes to pricing. The non-facelifted and used Urus should’ve lost, but these results tell us that the Urus S might end up being the better choice. It’s cheaper, more comfortable, and capable of similar performances.

But the one department in which the Performante shined is braking. The test was done two times and the result was the same – the old unit, which introduced the largest brakes ever installed on a production car, lost by a considerable amount. The Performante’s vented discs worked overtime and provided the same reassuring outcome, even though both units sported carbon ceramics.

But before you watch how this drag race went in its entirety, don’t forget one important thing – if you want the most expensive Urus, then you won’t get air suspension, which means no adjustability for off-road shenanigans either. Choose wisely if you plan on taking your posh SUV through the snow or desert. But you can get massaging seats, if that’s something you need on your performance-focused Lamborghini.

Now, watch what happened precisely and don't hesitate to share your take with us because we’d love to hear what you think about all this.