Corsa

Speed builds quickly in the 2019 Lamborghini Urus on the North Course of The Thermal Club outside of Palm Springs, California. I look down between turns 9 and 1, and the digital speedometer reads 126 mph and climbing. It feels like 80. Still, I feel I need more power. That’s what happens when you’re chasing Shinya Michimi, the 2016 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America champion in the world’s first super SUV.

Not only can the Urus slay a track, it could attack a rally stage, pick up the kids and the groceries, and let onlookers know with no degree of uncertainty that you’re doing quite well for yourself.

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

A twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 courtesy of the Volkswagen Group provides the ludicrous power. It’s used by Porsche and Audi, but here it’s tuned to the hilt to make 641 raging horses at 6,000 rpm and 627 determined pound-feet of torque from 2,250 to 4,500 rpm. This V-8 is no lightweight in its other guises, but Lamborghini engineers saw fit to change out the heads, pistons, connecting rods, valves, camshafts, intake manifold, turbos, and exhaust system to give it a distinct Italian flavor. Those turbos force up to 26 psi of boost into the combustion chambers to light off with a commensurate amount of gasoline. The big explosions of air and fuel shoot the Urus from 0-62 mph in 3.6 seconds and propel it all the way to a top speed of 189 mph.

The V-8 barks and growls as it accelerates, with a low, guttural tone, burps between gears of the quick-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission, then snaps and pops when I let off the throttle on the approach to the next turn.

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

I’m running in Corsa (Track) mode because when you have three laps in a 641-hp Lambo SUV, you go for broke. Initially, I let the transmission do the shifting, but after about a lap I feel the transmission could give me a lower gear on occasion, so I begin to grab the steering wheel-mounted magnesium shift paddles as I enter the turns.

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That part works to perfection because I can knock it down multiple times and the computer will determine the lowest possible gear that the revs will allow. Unfortunately, the plan backfires immediately. Yellow lights come together in the instrument cluster and turn red to act as a shift light, but with my eyes on the track and the V-8 revving at will, the Urus falls on its face when the V-8 hits the rev limiter at 6,500 rpm before I’m ready to shift. I quickly grab the next gear and resume my chase of a Squadra Corse champion.

For the most part, I can keep up, and I can cheat a little because he’s not going all out. My hole card is the monster set of carbon ceramic brakes. The Urus’ standard 17.3-inch front rotors are the the largest on the market and its 10-piston calipers are tied for the most pincers on any vehicle. The rear features 14.6-inch rotors with six-piston calipers that would stop your Corvette just fine if they were mounted up front. Together they bring the heavy Urus to a stop from 62 mph in a tidy 110 feet.

I watch Shinya’s braking points and brake a little later to shorten the gap, then follow his line into the corners. For the most part, I get the slower speed stuff right in corners 3a, 3b, 4, and 5 where Urus feels smaller than its healthy mid-size footprint.

A lot of hardware and software comes into play here, and it’s all standard on the $200,000 SUV. Rear-wheel steering can turn the rear wheels up to 3 degrees opposite of the fronts to virtually shorten the wheelbase and make the Urus act like a smaller car in the tight stuff at speeds below 43 mph. Where the rear-axle steering leaves off torque vectoring takes over. Power flows to the outside rear wheel in higher speed corners to help the Urus virtually shorten them.

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

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Active roll bars front and rear work in tandem with three-chamber air springs on their firmest settings in Corsa to counteract body lean in an almost supernatural way. Corsa mode also lowers the ride height from a standard 6.8 inches of ground clearance to 6.2 inches; a lower center of gravity means more grip and less lean.

I have trouble again in turn 9 and this time all that equipment can’t bail me out. This turn is tighter than it looks and I carry to much speed through it. That makes the Urus go into a controlled slide for a hot second, then regain its line and head into the longest straight. The 22-inch Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires—the grippiest rubber available—do their best to hang on, but even with 285 mm of contact patch at each front corner and 325 mm at each rear corner, the Urus can’t counteract the effects of physics. Push 4,844 pounds fast into a corner and something has to give. I’m just glad it’s so controlled and it gets its feet back under it so quickly. Still, it does feel like a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s would grip better. Does Michelin make them this big?

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

Sport

The sportiest driving most buyers will do with their mortgage-priced SUVs will be on twisty public roads. Outside of Palm Springs, I head for mountain roads. It’s a good time for Sport mode.

While the base setting for the standard all-wheel-drive system is a 40/60 front/rear bias, Sport mode sends 75 percent of the power to the rear (while Corsa exports 65 percent to the rear wheels) to give it a rear-drive feel. The exhaust baffles open up to create a deeper tone and louder yawps when I nail it. Even though Corsa is louder yet, the sound is more noticeable on the street where I might frighten school children or mere Porsche Cayenne drivers.

The steering is light, but quick, though Sport adds a welcome touch of weight (Corsa gets even more). The Urus goes where I point it, and quickly. It’s not quite a supercar, but a high-riding super hatchback that defies physics.

Terra and Sabbia

Lamborghini has built a wide range of capability into its second-ever SUV, and to show it off the drive program includes some off-roading along the San Andreas Fault.

For this exercise, or when an Urus owner might be confronted by less-than ideal conditions in the wild, Lamborghini offers an optional Off-road package that comes with 21-inch Pirelli Scorpion Zero all-terrain tires and two additional off-road modes: Terra (dirt) and Sabbia (sand). In Terra mode, the active sway bars disconnect to let the suspension articulate and the air suspension raises the ride height to 8.4 inches and goes into its firmest setting. Sabbia keeps the high ride, softens the damping, and livens up the throttle. If a really big rock sits in the way, the air suspension can raise the Urus another 1.4 inches through a command on the center screen. One additional bad surface mode, Neve (Snow), also rides 8.4 inches off the ground and dulls the powertrain’s responses to help the vehicle get traction on snow and ice.

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

The trail isn’t nearly as technical as it sounds, and the drive isn’t as exciting as the accompanying pictures would suggest. The course amounts to a dusty road with the occasional rock or rut that the family Camry could conquer. Obviously, the Urus picks through this dirty, sandy driveway with ease. But it can do far more than this. It’s meant to be kicking up rooster tails of sand on desert dunes or running a rally stage. We’ll see the Urus do stuff like that when Lamborghini kicks off its one-make racing series next year. Still, this little exercise serves as a reminder that the capability is baked right in.

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus, Palm Springs media drive, December, 2018

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

2019 Lamborghini Urus

Strada

The drive on the city streets of Palm Springs gives me a chance to test Strada (Street) mode, feel the ride, and examine the interior. Despite low-profile 22-inch tires, the ride is firm but comfortable, though Palm Springs isn’t infected with potholes like a Rustbelt city. The engine note stays in the background until I nail it, which creates calm until calm is no longer welcome.

The cargo area is large (though with a high lift-over height), the driver’s seat comfortable with a command position that overlooks traffic, the rear seats have lots of room for two or even three adults, and the infotainment system is a modern touchscreen. You can use this Lambo like you’d use your Lexus RX.

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Awash in leather, Alcantara, wood, and carbon-fiber finishes, the cabin is built to the standard of a $200,000 vehicle. A hexagonal design theme takes its cue from the in-your face exterior. The Tamburo (Italian for drum), the control center through which the drive modes and gears are chosen, is a work of art in itself; it looks like a high-end SLR camera.

It’s striking how usable the Urus is an everyday appliance, and isn’t that what we want in our SUVs? Not only that, but this super sport utility vehicle can tear up the track, tame off-road terrain, and clamber through the snow, all while reminding your neighbors that you’ve made it.

Just don’t think you’ve made it quite as far as Squadra Corse champion.

Lamborghini provided travel and lodging to Internet Brands Automotive to bring your this firsthand report.