Heavier, hybrid Lamborghini Urus SE rolls into Korea

Industry

Published: 23 Jul. 2024, 18:23 Updated: 23 Jul. 2024, 19:43

Heavier, hybrid Lamborghini Urus SE rolls into Korea

The regional director of Automobili Lamborghini's Asia-Pacific operations, Francesco Scardaoni, poses for the camera with the Lamborghini Urus SE, the plug-in hybrid version of its SUV. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Lamborghini unveiled the Urus SE in Korea on Tuesday — a heavier, but no less Lamborghini hybrid version of the luxury carmaker's top-selling SUV.

The new plug-in hybrid version (PHEV) of the Urus combines the existing 620-horsepower, V8 twin-turbo engine with a 192-horsepower electric motor to produce a combined output of around 800 horsepower.

“This is not the usual downsized hybridized car,” Francesco Scardaoni, regional director of Automobili Lamborghini's Asia-Pacific operations, said at the PHEV Urus SE's Korean launch event in eastern Seoul on Tuesday afternoon.

While the Urus SE is the most powerful model in Lamborghini’s lineup, beating the Perofmante version, it is also the heaviest model in terms of horsepower, weighing 2,550 kilograms (5,622 pounds) — making it almost 300 kilograms heavier than the current Urus S. It owes its heavier weight to the electric motor mounted between the engine and the gearbox and the 25.9 kilowatt-hour battery under the trunk. This results in a 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (0-62 miles per hour) of 3.4 seconds — still fast, but 0.1 seconds slower than the existing Urus Perfomante.

“We wanted to be the car to have the same driving fun as the Urus S or the Performante,” the regional director told the Korea JoongAng Daily after the press event, adding that the suspension was tuned differently to maintain such “driving fun.”

“The Urus SE has the additional weight of the hybrid powertrain, but we offset it by using lightweight materials like carbon fiber parts.”

The electrified powertrain is not a compromise, but the best of both worlds, according to Lamborghini; it's said to combine the “benefits of the EV and the V8,” while also being more environmentally friendly.

Lamborghini unveiled the Lamborghini Urus SE in Korea, the plug-in hybrid version of its SUV, in eastern Seoul on Tuesday afternoon. [CHO YONG-JUN]

The 25.9 kilowatt-hour battery, around a third of the capacity usually included in pure electric vehicles, is enough to drive the Urus SE on solely its electric motor for 60 kilometers at up to 130 kilometers per hour.

A 12.3-inch infotainment screen is installed at the center of the Urus SE's dashboard featuring the latest version of its Human Machine Interface — shared with Revuelto, the company’s V12 flagship — alongside a 12.3-inch digital cluster.

But not all Urus SE models on the road will be the same. Buyers will be able to make their own version of the SUV via the company’s customization service, Ad Personam, choosing from 100-plus body-related options, 47 interior color combinations and four interior stitching options.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]