After 75 years of sublime sports cars, Ferrari has revealed its first SUV.
The Purosangue (the name, translated into English, means ‘thoroughbred’) is also the first Ferrari with four doors. Not everything is quite so radical, though: look beneath the bonnet and you’ll find a defiantly old-school naturally aspirated V12. Engines don’t get more exciting.
The Ferrari Purosangue effectively replaces the GTC4Lusso as the ‘family Ferrari’, yet it’s a vastly more versatile machine. Ferrari is loath to call this an SUV – “It’s 100 percent a sports car,” insists marketing boss Enrico Galliera – but potential rivals include the Aston Martin DBX, Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Here is everything you need to know on the Ferrari Purosangue SUV.
New Ferrari Purosangue price and release date
UK prices for the Ferrari Purosangue SUV haven’t been announced, but it costs €390,000 in Italy, which equates to around £338,000 at today’s exchange rate. And yes, that’s twice the starting price of an Aston Martin DBX or Lamborghini Urus. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna describes this as “a car like no other”. He had better be right.
One notable plus-point for the Ferrari Purosangue is exclusivity. Vigna says production will be limited to 20 percent of Ferrari’s overall volume (i.e. around 2,200 cars a year), protecting resale values and the car’s cachet. Compare this approach to Lamborghini, where the Urus now accounts for more than 50 percent of sales.
Ferrari says the first cars will reach European customers next spring, with the right-hand-drive UK deliveries from late summer. Don’t expect to collect your Ferrari Purosangue in 2023 unless you’re already a “loyal Ferrari client”, though – these big-spenders have been granted priority. Galliera says demand has been exceptional: “like for our limited-series cars”.
There are no trim levels for the Ferrari Purosangue SUV, but expect a vast range of extra-cost options. Want more? The Tailor Made service can fully personalise any Ferrari to your own personal taste (or lack of).
New Ferrari Purosangue: exterior and interior
Design chief Flavio Manzoni confesses that creating an entirely new kind of Ferrari was “quite tough”. Seeing the finished Purosangue at the Centro Stile in Maranello, though, we have to applaud his efforts. The Ferrari Purosangue might offer a raised (185mm) ride height and a roomy (473-litre) boot, but this is still recognisably a Prancing Horse.
In profile, the Ferrari Purosangue has the silhouette of a classic Ferrari berlinetta, with muscular haunches and a tapering, coupe-style roof. Manzoni says it has “elegant and sensual curves… with the feeling of a crouching feline”. Interesting details include the car’s ‘eye sockets’ – actually air intakes, rather than the headlights – and the tiny toggles that open the rear doors, inspired by the classic 308 GTB.
By way of contrast, the Purosangue's dashboard takes its cue from the state-of-the-art Ferrari SF90 supercar, with a wraparound design, crisp digital displays and touchpad controls. There’s a pop-up rotary controller on the centre console for adjusting the cabin temperature, plus an F1-style manettino on the steering wheel for the five driving modes: Wet, Comfort, Sport, Race and ESC-Off. The latter is best reserved for the racetrack…
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity is standard, but Ferrari says the Purosangue isn’t a fully ‘connected car’ as it can’t guarantee the security of such systems against hackers. It is working on the technology, though.
New Ferrari Purosangue: space and practicality
The Ferrari Purosangue’s ‘Welcome Doors’ open like a clasp, offering a widescreen view of the interior, then soft-close with an electric whirr. As well as being a talking-point outside the theatre or yacht club, they allow for a short wheelbase (important for agility) without limiting access for rear passengers.
Inside, there’s ample rear-seat space for adults and all four chairs are individually adjustable. You can dazzle your passengers (literally) with a full-length electrochromic glass sunroof that brightens at the touch of a button, but a three-abreast rear bench is absent from the options list; this is strictly a four-seater. A boxy, hatchback boot offers a similar amount of space to a Nissan Qashqai.
The rich, creamy leather of the Ferrari Purosangue SUV we sat in wasn’t exactly family-friendly, but its optional ‘bulletproof’ floor covering struck a great balance between luxury and utility. Made from the ballistic fabric used for military uniforms, it looks fantastic and is incredibly hard-wearing. Perhaps more so, indeed, than the beautiful forged alloy wheels (22-inches at the front and 23 at the rear – the largest ever fitted to a production Ferrari), which look eminently unsuitable for tackling rough terrain.
New Ferrari Purosangue: engines and gearboxes
Still, this isn’t a Land Rover; the Purosangue is very much optimised for road use. And while Ferrari has declined to publish a lap-time for its Fiorano test-track, we’re certain it will be swift around a circuit.
The key stats of the Ferrari Purosangue are 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 193mph, courtesy of a 6.5-litre non-turbo V12 that produces 735PS and drives all four wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Gianmara Fulgenzi, who led the Purosangue project, promises an “unprecedented range of abilities”, including “never-ending acceleration” from the engine and “maximum harmonics” from the exhaust.
Counting against the Ferrari Purosangue is a hefty kerb weight of 2,180kg, although an arsenal of electronic wizardry will help combat the laws of physics. While most rival luxury SUVs ride on air suspension, Ferrari uses a coil-sprung setup with 48-volt electronic actuators to counteract body-roll. Aptly, the system is called Ferrari Active Suspension Technology – or ‘FAST’ for short.
A more efficient turbocharged V8 or plug-in hybrid powertrain looks likely at a later date, but Fulgenzi is staying tight-lipped at present. The message is clear: buy a glorious, free-breathing V12 while you still can.
Find a used Ferrari Purosangue for sale
It will be a while before any used examples of the Ferrari Purosangue come to market – and they will likely carry a high five-figure premium when they do. If you want the latest in-demand Ferrari, that’s the price you pay for jumping the queue.
As an alternative, the Ferrari GTC4Lusso and its FF predecessor both offer four seats, four-wheel drive and more practicality than most supercars. FF prices start at around £100,000, which is relatively affordable in Ferrari terms. Just don’t forget the running costs.
Looking for more new car news?
Check out the heycar blog for all the latest car news, including all the exciting new SUVs coming to market. These include the new-generation BMW iX1, Mercedes GLC, Nissan X-Trail and Honda CR-V.
The Ferrari Pinin was an elegant four-door saloon, revealed in 1980 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pininfarina. The design house was responsible for the vast majority of classic Ferraris, but the Pinin remained a one-off concept car. Strangely, its influence can be seen in the Vauxhall Senator, launched later that decade.
Ferrari hasn’t quoted a drag coefficient (Cd) figure for the Purosangue. However, huge time and effort was devoted to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) work, including ‘air curtains’ around the wheelarches and directing airflow over the rear window, which removes the need for a rear wiper.
We’ll have to wait a few months to discover how the Purosangue feels from behind the wheel. Enrico Galliera says it will be “less intimidating” than the firm’s supercars, yet still fantastically engaging and exciting to drive. We can’t wait to find out.
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