The Plug-In Hybrid Lamborghini Urus SE Is Coming To A City Centre Near You

Just over a year ago, Lamborghini didn’t sell a single series production hybrid. By the end of the year, it’ll sell three. The first was the long-awaited Aventador successor, the Revuelto, which has just begun customer deliveries. The third will be the replacement for the Huracan, rumoured to be called Temerario. But between them comes this: the Urus SE. And no, we’re not sure why it’s named after a mid-ranking Volkswagen trim level.

It’s the long-awaited plug-in hybrid version of the Urus, and replaces the outgoing S and Performante versions. At its heart is the same 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 as before, now producing 612bhp. This is less than the old, pure-combustion versions, but it’s augmented by an electric motor sitting inside the eight-speed automatic transmission.

This motor on its own delivers 189bhp, and with both working together, peak output is 791bhp and 701lb ft of torque. With the e-motor working as part of the transmission, it can continuously vector torque between the Urus’s axles, allowing what Lamborghini calls ‘“on-demand” oversteer’. That’ll be a drift mode, then. On a plug-in hybrid Lamborghini SUV. The mind boggles.

With this new powertrain, the Urus SE will hit 62mph from a standstill in 3.4 seconds, and max out at 194mph, figures that close right in on the segment’s heavy hitters, the Ferrari Purosangue and Aston Martin DBX 707. Lambo also says it’ll do over 60km (37 miles) on electricity alone.

Four new ‘electric performance strategies’ have been added to the Urus’s already crowded selection of drive modes: EV drive, hybrid, performance and recharge.

As well as the new powertrain, the Urus SE has been given a visual refresh, with a softer, slightly less in-your-face look all around – although it’s still not what we’d call subtle. A new rear spoiler increases downforce by 35 per cent over the Urus S. The interior gets a larger, 12.3-inch infotainment screen, and has received a nip-and-tuck in a few other areas.

Stefano Cossalter, Lamborghini’s product line director for the Urus, said: “The Urus SE is a fundamental evolutionary step, not only in terms of sustainability by virtue of a radical reduction in CO2 emissions, but also in terms of performance and sportiness.” It should arrive later this year, and it won’t be long before your nearest city centre is crawling with them doing second-gear pulls and using precisely none of the electric motor’s capabilities.