The day most Ferrari purists dreaded has arrived – Ferrari has just unveiled its first-ever SUV also the brand’s first-ever four-door, four-seater car. A Ferrari for the family, if you will. And the brand is counting on the fact that you will because every performance car in the world has thrown its hat into the SUV ring, with everyone from Lamborghini to Aston Martin now having its own bonafide power SUV. You can immediately tell why Ferrari would be reluctant to call this an SUV because in the metal, it looks more like a tall 812 Superfast.
Ever the racer, Ferrari has decided to give the Purosangue a front-mid engined layout, with a rear-mounted transmission to balance out the weight distribution. It even sits lower than rivals like the Lamborghini Urus and unlike the turbo-V8 powered Urus, the Purosanque is going for a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12, as if to demonstrate just how hardcore and not off-road oriented this car is.
It makes 725hp and 716 Nm of torque, all of which is channeled to all four wheels (maybe a bit of off-roading can be done?) via a 2-speed front power transmission unit and the 8-speed DCT unit at the back. In every other way, this is a Ferrari. Acceleration figures are bonkers for a car weighing over 2 tonnes (note: it’s the heaviest Ferrari ever).
Ferrari has been careful to ensure that the Purosangue (meaning Thoroughbred) handles like a Ferrari. And while the proof is in the pudding, its standard carbon ceramic brakes, 49:51 weight distribution ratio, and active suspension means it’s quite an adept handler. What’s interesting is that the Purosangue does not come with any off-road driving mode, nor is its underbody designed to take on any rough terrain.
So it’s essentially designed to take on tricky exit ramps and speed breakers. With a ground clearance of 180mm, it’s not the tallest SUV, but it will be the most easy to drive, especially in India, where it arrives early next year. The Purosangue joins ranks with the likes of the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, Aston Martin DBX and Porsche Cayenne Turbo to create a tribe of performance SUVs that are helping brands create a much wider profit margin for themselves.
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