Lamborghini launched its new Urus SE PHEV at a special event attended by more than 200 owner cars on 4 May. The event took place in Farnborough and was the second UK Lamborghini Day after a giant gathering of 350-plus cars at Silverstone last year.
After parking up, guests could admire an impressive line up of V10 Lamborghinis on a terrace before going into the main event where there was a range of displays highlighting several aspects of the Italian supercar maker and its collaborations. These ranged from a live theatre presented by Cenrto Stile to Polo Storico (with a Diablo, the youngest car the department currently deals with, on show), Revuelto and even an eye-catchingly colourful Tod’s display, yes the loafer specialists.
There was a buffet lunch for all attendees in a massive room showing very early and late Countachs while two examples of the new Urus were also on display following its reveal by a host of company bigwigs. They included Polo Storico boss Alessandro Farmeschi, head of marketing and sale Fed Foschini, tech head Rouven Mohr and designer Mitja Borkert.
The new vehicle has an all-electric range of over 37 miles and cuts 80% of carbon dioxide emissions as well as getting to 62mph in 3.4 seconds and romping on to 194mph, so it is firmly in the super-SUV category. The petrol engine is a twin-turbo 3996cc V8 offering 600cv of power and 800nm of torque while the supplementary electric motor gives 192cv and 483nm. Between the two drive systems, there are 10 driving modes, it will be more agile thanks to longitudinal and lateral torque vectoring and the marketing push relies heavily on the concept of having two hearts.
Foschini said the SE was taking Lamborghini to a new era of sustainability without sacrificing performance and acknowledged that thanks to the Urus, the once-niche brand has been propelled into uncharted territory with its audience, 70% of buyers nowadays being entirely new to Lamborghini.
The styling changes are not massive and largely restricted to front, rear and interior detailing. Borkert added: ‘Lamborghini is about design and performance and the Urus was the starting point of our new design language.’ Changes include an enlarged ‘mouth’ to allow greater airflow, improved stance on 23in wheels – ‘a car needs to sit perfectly on its wheels’ – and a higher rear wing, plus a mesh motif on the back inspired by the Gallardo and new numberplate placement. On the inside, Lamborghini has gone full-on ‘cockpit’ with jet fighter style switches. Borkert says: ‘When you drive a Lamborghini, we want to give you the feeing that you are a pilot.’
The launch colours are Bianco Sapphirus white and Arancio Egon orange and the full colour palette will be traditionally vibrant.
