Ferrari Purosangue Vs Lamborghini Urus: Can Horsepower Beat Torque?

April 30, 2024 at 13:03

• The Ferrari has a horsepower advantage over the Lamborghini but has less torque.
• Powering the Urus is a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 while the Purosangue has a 6.5-liter V12.
• These two Italian thoroughbreds are the pinnacle of super SUVs.

For many years, the Lamborghini Urus has been the go-to super SUV for those in the market for a practical vehicle with near supercar levels of performance and and Italian flair. It now has a rival in the form of the Ferrari Purosangue and this video shows how evenly matched they are.

In launching the Purosangue, Ferrari could have gone down a similar route to Lamborghini and installed one of its twin-turbocharged powertrains. Instead, it has fitted its flagship 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12, rated at 715 hp and 528 lb-ft (716 Nm) of torque.

Read: Would You Spend $20,000 On A Ferrari Purosangue Scale Model?

Eager to see how quick the Purosangue is, CarWow lined it up alongside a new Lamborghini Urus Performante whose 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 churns out 657 hp. While that's less than the Ferrari, it has a sizeable torque advantage at 627 lb-ft (850 Nm) thanks to the forced induction.

In the first race between the two, Mat Watson driving the Lamborghini gets a better launch thanks to his quicker reaction time. The second race was much closer as both drivers had excellent reactions. Initially, the Lamborghini edges ahead of the Ferrari and seems to be slightly quicker off the line but as the speeds start to build, the Ferrari starts to put its extra power to good use and overtakes the Lambo.

The result is similar in the deciding run. Once again, the Lamborghini gets the jump off the line but the Ferrari pulls it back and edges it at the finish line. During this final race, both SUVs cross the quarter-mile marker in 11.9 seconds.

A handful of rolling races were also held between the duo and once again, they are well matched but in general, the Ferrari seems to have the slight edge.