We sample Ferrari’s first foray into a true family car, a high-performance four-seater that extends the Italian marque’s abilities into a whole new sphere of influence
For industry watchers, Ferrari’s entry into what might loosely be called the SUV sector was a matter of when, not if. Despite repeated protestations from former CEO Luca di Montezemolo, the spectacle of rival brands creaming off Ferrari’s precious customer base with their, shall we say, more practical luxury performance offerings, eventually became too much to bear.
At first glance, then, Purosangue indicates that Ferrari might become a rather more conventional car company. Check the price to put that right. Starting at over £300k, the Purosangue’s only monetary competition is the. They are very different beasts indeed.
Purists, if they’re still paying any attention at all, should take note that Ferrari do not consider this car as an SUV. It’s also not really a crossover. ‘It’s a true Ferrari,’ we were told, and nothing in its design or engineering contradicts that, right down to bespoke elements of extreme and unwarranted complexity.
There have been other even lower profile deviations. Ferrari is hot on authenticity, swift to deploy a cease-and-desist letter when someone modifies or otherwise messes around with its precious brand . Nevertheless, in the 1980s and 1990s, the company had a lucrative side business building ‘specials’ for the Brunei Royal Family, the nature of which regularly violated those sacred tenets.
This little diversion serves to illustrate that the Purosangue doesn’t exist in a vacuum. And like its ultra-rare predecessors, it unequivocally performs like a modern Ferrari. Under that relatively short bonnet is Ferrari’s V12 engine, the beating heart of the company. Tucked way back in the body, so that half the cylinders are practically beneath the windscreen, the V12 goes without turbochargers and is mated to a four-wheel system developed from the one in the GTC4Lusso.
The Purosangue is shorter and stubbier than almost all its other competitors, an indication of the extreme complexity of the packaging and the dovetailing of design and engineering from an early stage. The rear doors are rear-hinged , opening up the cabin like a clamshell . An optional glass roof adds even more space to an already generous passenger compartment.
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