2024 Lamborghini Urus SE plug-in hybrid unveiled

24/04/2024 14:01

The plug-in hybrid version of the 2024 Lamborghini Urus super SUV has been unveiled, ahead of the first overseas showroom arrivals by the end of the year.

The Urus SE is the first electrified version of Lamborghini’s debut SUV and is the most powerful version sold to date, with close to 600kW – about 100kW more than the previous record holder.

At 2.5 tonnes, it is believed to be the heaviest Lamborghini since the iconic LM002 off-roader of the 1980s – though company chief technical officer Rouven Mohr told media including Drive the SE is still the lightest super SUV in the “hybrid segment”.

After a few months of overlap, the SE will replace the two petrol-only models that comprise the rest of the Urus line-up – the S and Performante – as the entire Lamborghini range will use plug-in hybrid power from the end of 2024.

Powering the Urus SE is a 456kW/800Nm version of the VW Group’s 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8, matched with a 141kW/483Nm inside the eight-speed automatic transmission.

The petrol engine has 22kW to 34kW less than every other Urus, but the electric boost pushes the combined output to 588kW (at 6000rpm) and 950Nm (1750-5750rpm).

It is nearly 100kW and 100Nm more than the next most powerful variants – the 490kW/850Nm Urus S and Performante – and outguns every version of the defunct non-hybrid V12 Aventador.

Lamborghini claims a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 3.4 seconds, 0-200km/h in 11.4 seconds and a 312km/h top speed – compared to 3.5sec, 12.5sec and 305km/h for the Urus S.

The latter two are faster than the lightened Performante – which claims 0-200km/h in 11.5sec and a 306km/h top speed – but the hybrid cannot match the Performante’s 3.3-second 0-100km/h time.

The power boost is met by a large weight increase due to the 25.7kWh battery pack, mounted between the boot floor and the rear differential.

Lamborghini claims “more than” 60km of claimed electric-only driving range – which is available in all-wheel-drive mode, and speeds up to 130km/h.

Mr Mohr told select media including Drive the hybrid system adds about 200kg to the Urus, though engineers have limited the overall weight penalty to about 150-180kg through weight savings in other areas, including a 20kg-lighter rear differential.

At 2.5 tonnes – extrapolated from its claimed 3.3kg per horsepower weight ratio, and 800 horsepower output – it is still understood to be the heaviest Lamborghini since the three-tonne LM002 of the 1980s.

New for the Urus SE is a redesigned electronically-controlled rear differential, as well as an electronically-controlled centre differential claimed to provide faster and more precise control of the power sent to each axle.

“The car for the first time does not [use] … the classical mechanical central differential based on a Torsen [torque-sensing] differential,” Mr Mohr said of the all-wheel-drive (AWD) system.

“On one hand we can have the car even more comfortable in Strada [mode, with more secure roadholding], and on the other hand more fun to drive in Sport, because we can select the torque we apply on the front or rear depending on the driving situation.”

The executive explained the new, more capable AWD technology allows the suspension to focus on ensuring a comfortable ride – and its primary job of absorbing bumps – rather than trying to make up for shortfalls in the capabilities of the AWD system in corners.

The existing six drive modes – Strada (street), Sport, Corsa (race), Neve (snow), Sabbia (sand) and Terra (dirt) – are joined by four SE-specific settings: EV Drive (electric), Hybrid, Performance and Recharge.

Hybrid (available in Strada) combines petrol and electric power for optimum efficiency, Recharge (in Strada, Sport, Corsa and Neve) can add up to 80 per cent charge to the battery using the engine, while Performance (in Strada, Sport, Corsa, Sabbia and Terra) unlocks the car’s “full potential”.

The adaptive air suspension lowers up to 15mm from its regular height in Corsa – and raises the body up to 75mm with a lift system – while all the modes customise the throttle response, steering, transmission and exhaust sound.

Lamborghini claims that compared to the S, the SE is more comfortable over bumps in Strada mode, easier to drift in Sport mode, more stable over kerbs on a race-track in Corsa, and has more wheel travel in Neve, Sabbia and Terra.

The SE plug-in hybrid introduces a facelift for the Urus, with a reshaped front bumper and bonnet, and new headlights with matrix LED technology and redesigned signatures “inspired by the tail” of the bull in the Lamborghini logo, the company claims.

At the rear there is a new tailgate design and lower diffuser, restyled Y-shaped tail-lights which connect across the rear end, and a new spoiler claimed to increase rear downforce by 35 per cent compared to the Urus S.

Lamborghini says there is 15 per cent more cooling airflow than the original Urus – thanks to new underbody vents and front air ducts – as well as 30 per cent more air cooling for the brakes through further design changes.

Available are new-design 23-inch Galanthus alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tyres, with buyers able to choose from more than 100 exterior paint options, now including Arancio Egon orange and Bianco Sapphirus white.

Also on offer are 47 interior colour combinations and four stitching options, with further customisation available through the Ad Personam personalisation program.

Inside, the 10.1-inch touchscreen has been ditched in favour of a larger 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen running new-generation software from the Revuelto V12 hybrid supercar.

There are new buttons and switches, while the dashboard design has been tweaked with restyled air vents, and new “panel, seat and dashboard coverings.”

Also included is a “dedicated telemetry system” specific to the SE plug-in hybrid.

The 2024 Lamborghini Urus SE plug-in hybrid is due in European showrooms by the end of this year.

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