Look away now, purists! The latest purebred from the stables of Maranello is here and by definition to the norm, it is a bloated Prancing Horse but it has its sights set squarely on hyper SUVs. This is the Ferrari Purosangue and it brings with it a new era in the house of Ferrari.
And just like that, Ferrari’s very own SUV (even though they don’t believe it to be one) is finally here. We caught a glimpse of a leaked image from factory a few months ago and not too much has changed. That is not a bad thing either. The model is handsome, well-proportioned and retains a GT aesthetic while being pumped up off of the ground leaving those that encounter it doubting whether it really is an SUV or not. Did we mention the rears open up as suicide doors yet?
With only 185 mm of ground clearance and low-profile tyres (255/35 R22 up front and 315/30 R23 at the rear), it would be wise not to attempt any brave off-road theatrics but rutted urban roads or gravel tracks would find it in good stead. Coming in at over two tonnes, it is also one of the heaviest Ferrari badged models to ever leave the factory Enzo built over his tenure, but that would be expected with a vehicle housing a behemoth 6,5-litre V12 under the long, sweeping bonnet.
True to Ferrari tradition, the Purosangue promises to be quick. How quick? Well, 3,3 seconds should get you from a standstill to 100 km/h before reaching a top speed of 310 km/h with substantially more time invested. This is all courtesy of the whopping 533 kW power figure, which makes the Purosangue powertrain the most powerful V12 to be assembled in the historic Maranello factory of Italy. For comparison sake, this is also considerably more than its chief rivals the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT (471 kW), Lamborghini Urus Performance (490 kW) and Aston Martin DBX 707 (520 kW).
The power along with the 716 N.m are translated to all wheels via an eight-speed automatic transaxle box which aids the high-rider in maintaining a 49%/51% weight distribution. Watch and listen to the motor in action at the premier video here.
No official pricing or arrival dates have been earmarked for South Africa but granted the success of the aforementioned SUV rivals in our local market, this should logically become the more volume product in their lineup. Despite this, Ferrari has mentioned that it will sell no more than 2500 examples per year which equates to just 20% of its annual sales. Despite its bloated look, it seems to carry over the important characteristics that make a true Ferrari; a real wolf in sheep’s clothing.
