ICE-powered Lamborghinis are going to get scarce soon. Consider this the final call for this SUV with this powertrain.
RECENTLY, Lamborghini Philippines General Sales Manager Enrique “Erick” Jarlego II pointed to a framed image of the LM0002 right next to the present-day Urus (an S variant) on display at the Rockwell Power Plant Mall in Makati City. The LM0002 is the spiritual predecessor of the Lamborghini’s strong-selling (certainly by supercar standards) Urus. “This Urus is one of the last few units that are exclusively internal-combustion-engine-powered,” he shared, not without a hint of sadness. The Italian auto brand is expected to roll out a hybrid model by next year, effectively ending the ICE age for the SUV.
Year 1986 was an unlikely period for a brand such as Lamborghini to release a, gasp, utility vehicle, but the LM0002 proved to be precursor for the crossover/SUV craze that was to follow. Today, with its luxe car price point and accoutrements, the Urus can now look at a distinguished history. Some 20,000 units have been made since the model’s introduction in 2017.
Mr. Jarlego shared that the S variant of the Urus slots just beneath the Performante, which remains the most beastly of the lot. The S is your daily drivable Urus, he maintained, which now boasts an improved infotainment system — with Apple CarPlay, to boot. It has adaptive air suspension, soft-close doors, double-glazed glass, and more horses (now at 650hp) versus the garden-variety Urus. A new front bumper nixes the traditional honeycomb design for horizontal slats. Matte-black, stainless-steel skid plates are standard, along with a black front grille. The Urus S loses kilograms through a carbon fiber hood with vents that can come in gloss black, body, color, or carbon fiber. A carbon fiber roof can be optioned as well.
The rear bumper has also been recast, with the lower portion painted in matte black. The new twin-tailpipe exhaust is finished in brushed steel, but can be had in matte or gloss black — or even bright chrome.
Powering the Urus S is the same 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8, mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission for a brisk zero-to-100kph time of 3.5 ticks — on the way to a top speed of 305kph. Even the blat of the exhaust system has been tweaked, said Mr. Jarlego. Keeping the heightened performance in check are huge 10-cylinder monobloc calipers in front and floating calipers in the rear. The carbon ceramic brake discs are bigger than the ones on the Porsche GT2 RS. Aside from the standard 21-inch wheels, buyers can opt for 22-inch Nath wheels in matte titanium and diamond polish finish, or huge 23-inch Taigete rollers in bronze or diamond polish. The wheels are shod in Lamborghini-specific Pirellis.
The display unit was swathed in Arancio Borealis paint, a color shared with the Huracan. The Urus embarrassment of riches continues with six drive modes, plus an Ego mode, to “deliver the most versatile, comfortable, and sporty super SUV experience in every environment.”
With the clock ticking loudly for vehicle browsers with an ICE-powered super SUV on their wish list, the Lamborghini Urus S certainly ticks all the boxes to make that purchase more memorable and worth it. — Kap Maceda Aguila
