Ferrari today unveiled the Purosangue, the first ever four-door car in the company’s history, and the company insists it’s not a SUV, instead referring to Purosangue as “an extension of its sports car lineup with a new form factor meant to enhance versatility and comfort.” I say we call it a Ferrari Utility Vehicle, or FUV, because nothing say FU like a Ferrari.
The Purosangue has a mid-front-mounted engine with the gearbox at the rear to create a sporty transaxle layout. The Power Transfer Unit is coupled in front of the engine to provide a unique 4×4 transmission. This delivers a 49:51 front to rear weight distribution that Maranello’s engineers deem optimal for a mid-front-engined sports car.
The Purosangue is the only SUV to sport naturally-aspirated V12 engine. It’s the same engine used in the 812, only with 725 hp instead of 800. That still makes it the most powerful gas powered SUV you can buy. It also guaranteed the most enthralling Ferrari engine soundtrack. Furthermore, it can deliver 80% torque even at low revs for unique driving pleasure at all times.
The all-new chassis has a carbon-fibre roof as standard to keep weight down and lower the centre of gravity. Redesigning the bodyshell from scratch also meant they could copy the suicide-style rear doors used by Rolls-Royce. There’s still a B-pillar, but Ferrari says this configuration aids ingress and egress to the rear seat. Engineers also said that it allowed them to increase the impression of space inside without having to stretch the wheelbase too much.
The cabin has four heated electric seats that will comfortably accommodate four adults. The boot is the largest ever seen on a Ferrari and the rear seats fold to increase the luggage space. Naturally, the Purosangue has a more commanding driving position than other Ferraris, but the configuration is the same as on every other Ferrari. As a result, the driving position is still intimate and close to the floor to provide greater connection to the car’s dynamic capabilities.
With a big V12 under the hood, the Purosangue offers Ferrari sports car level performance figures. It will shoot from from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds and from 0 to 200 km/h in 10.6 second. The naturally-aspirated V12 soundtrack will make you wonder why Ferrari brother to with making the Burmester audio system standard equipment.
In order to maintain their image as a sports car company, Ferrari has stated that they won’t let Purosangue go above 25% of their sales. They will do this by making the Purosangue the most expensive normal production Ferrari you can buy. The expecting starting price of the FUV is $400,000. Once you add in options and the inevitable dealer markup, you should be well pass half a million dollar for Ferrari’s newest ride. I hope you have a lot of FU money.
