A new official video shows the updated Lamborghini Urus tackling Pikes Peak in camouflage.
The new Lamborghini Urus can be seen tackling the challenging bends and surface changes of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – which winds its way through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA – on a video posted to the company’s Instagram page. The video previews the facelifted model that goes on sale later this year.
View this post on Instagram
The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it snapshot film shows the Urus powering up the course’s switchbacks clad in an orange camouflage wrap and carrying what appears to be a more eye-catching body kit, hinting that this could be a new, hotter version of the firm’s SUV.
Despite the disguise, with a well-timed freeze frame it’s possible to see the updated model’s more aggressive lower bumper design, which is bookended by large triangular-edged air vents. The bonnet vents we’ve previously seen on prototypes also seem to be present and correct on the Pikes Peak car.
Around the sides, you’ll see lightweight, multi-spoke alloy wheels, while at the back there’s a new more angular bumper design that reflects the look up front.
What’s changed on the inside is anyone’s guess, but expect to see new colour and trim finishes. Thanks to this video, we can confirm that the car’s ‘engine start/stop’ button appears to be unchanged in the facelift.
The familiar muffled burble in the video suggests the camouflaged car is harbouring Lamborghini’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 under its newly vented bonnet, although you can expect it to be producing more than the 485kW it pumps out in its current iteration.
The new official video follows pictures we captured earlier this month of the new Urus being put through its paces in a winter setting – the slippery conditions often used to calibrate a car’s stability control and all-wheel-drive systems.
The Lamborghini Urus SUV was unveiled in 2017 and it’s now the brand’s best-selling model, raking in 61 per cent of total sales. Our spy shots suggest development is near completion and the latest imagery we have shows a prototype virtually undisguised, giving a much clearer look at Lamborghini’s styling revisions.
The Aston Martin DBX rival has gained a new front bumper containing several moderate revisions. The fork-shaped intakes are gone, and Lamborghini has switched the old egg-crate radiator grille for a simpler design. The outer air ducts have been reworked too, forming a pair of triangles that point inwards.
Below, there’s a fresh splitter, and above, a pair of new bonnet vents can be seen. At the other end of the car, there’s another new bumper that features vents behind the rear wheel arches.
We’re yet to see the updated SUV’s interior, but we expect it’ll get some retrimmed seats, a tweaked sports steering wheel and an updated infotainment system. All of the upgrades should also bring an increase over the current car’s £160,000 starting price.
Lamborghini hinted that a plug-in hybrid version was in the pipeline when the Urus was first revealed. A plug-in hybrid Urus will almost certainly borrow technology from the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, which shares the same platform and is also set to be facelifted this year. Currently, the hybrid Cayenne produces 671bhp and 770Nm from a 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8, but we expect both the plug-in hybrid Urus and Cayenne to use the upgraded version of this powertrain already fitted to the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, seeing power rise to 690bhp.
Lamborghini Urus facelift – spyshot 721
According to Lamborghini’s new electrification plan, the brand’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle won’t arrive until 2023, so we would expect to see the Urus PHEV arrive a little after the imminent mid-life update.
The current car’s 650bhp twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 will live on – although it remains to be seen whether Lamborghini’s engineers will tap even more performance from the unit, in the same way they did with the facelifted Huracan supercar.
Russell Campbell