[Auto] Ferrari Purosangue is 715bhp V12 super-SUV

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The Purosangue is the most radical Ferrari yet, as the first four-seat four-door model to be graced by the Prancing Horse.

Although its proportions and functionality are unprecedented for Ferrari, it has retained some of the brand’s fundamental features, having a front-mid-mounted V12 and being claimed to be “a true sports car”. 

Enrico Galliera, Ferrari’s marketing and commercial chief, said: “We believe it’s a game-changer. It has the performance of a sports car with the comfort and versatility of a less extreme car. For us, the strategy was to develop a sports car in a different segment.”

While Ferrari has a long history with 2+2 cars, most recently with the Roma, this is the first time a four-door model with four fully sized seats has made production.

The only previous four-door badged as a Ferrari was a Pininfarina-designed concept car of 1980, named the Pinin, which company founder Enzo Ferrari reportedly liked but never signed off.

Ferrari refuses to describe the Purosangue as an SUV, but the car’s proportions and functionality are very much intended for this segment – one in which Ferrari until now has been markedly absent while rivals such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Porsche have forged ahead to capitalise on the ever-growing worldwide po[CENSORED]rity of SUVs. 

The Purosangue is 4973mm long, 2028mm wide and 1589mm tall (compared with 5112mm, 2016mm and 1638mm for the Lamborghini Urus). Along with its 185mm of ground clearance, that puts it very much in SUV territory. It is also four-wheel drive.

Ferrari has held true to its heritage, employing its revered V12 in the Purosangue. The naturally aspirated 12-cylinder engine is a heavily reworked version of that used in the 812 Superfast, with a 65deg angle between cylinder banks, a 6.5-litre capacity, a dry sump and high-pressure direct fuel injection.

It has been developed for the Purosangue to ensure that maximum torque is available at lower revs to counter the extra weight of an SUV while not losing the linear power typical of Ferrari’s V12s.

The engine is mounted behind the front axle, while the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox sits at the rear, creating a sporty transaxle layout. This helps deliver the 49:51 front-to-rear weight distribution that Ferrari engineers deem optimum for a front-mid-engined sports car.

The Purosangue becomes the most powerful SUV on sale, with its maximum power of 715bhp arriving at 7750rpm and its torque peaking at 528lb ft at 6250rpm. 

In line with Ferrari’s claim that the Purosangue is a “true sports car”, it achieves the benchmark sprint of 0-62mph in just 3.3sec and 0-124mph in 10.6sec.

Galliera said there were many discussions about which powertrain to use, but he believed the V12 was the right one: “It’s the most iconic engine in the company. We’re looking for extreme performance combined with comfort. And for as long as customers have been asking for this car, they’ve been asking for us to keep the history of Ferrari, and that is the V12.”

At the Purosangue’s unveiling in Italy, Ferrari declined to talk about other powertrain options, but it’s also expected to use either the V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain of the 296 GTB or the V8 equivalent from the SF90 Stradale in future electrified guises.

The Purosangue’s new platform, which Ferrari said was created from scratch, is designed to cater primarily for a V12, but adapting it for other powertrains would “not be very hard”, according to product boss Gianmaria Fulgenzi.

The platform consists of aluminium alloy in its lower structure, while the car has a carbonfibre roof as standard to reduce weight and lower its centre of gravity. 

The result is a platform that’s lighter than previous four-seat Ferraris’, despite being larger overall. 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/ferrari-purosangue-715bhp-v12-super-suv