Ferrari Purosangue reveal

REVEALED FERRARI PUROSANGUE

Jack Evans takes a deep dive into Ferrari’s first four-door, four-seater model – just don’t let the Prancing Horse hear you calling it an SUV.

Ferrari’s muchanticipated Purosangue is here. The Prancing Horse’s first four-door, fourseater model – which Ferrari avoids calling an SUV – is said to have been designed as a sports car first and foremost, with a number of innovations to make sure it’s the fastest, most engaging car of its type on the market.

There’s a lot to talk about with this new £339,000 monster, so let’s have a look at some of its features in more detail...

Engine

Ferrari hasn’t done things by halves regarding the Purosangue’s engine. It’s a fearsome 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 that produces 704bhp and 716Nm of torque, enabling a 0-60mph time of under 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 193mph.

It’s derived from the same engine you’ll find powering the 812 Competizione but it’s been extensively reworked for the Purosangue.

Name

For a little while, it wasn’t clear whether or not the Purosangue would retain the ear-catching name when it finally went into production. However, Ferrari committed to the name plate and carried it through to the car that’ll head on to the roads. How to pronounce it? That’s pur-o-sang-whey.

Gearbox

The Purosangue adopts an eightspeed dual-clutch gearbox. The first seven ratios have been shortened (compared with the previous eightspeed ’box) to make shifts even quicker and more progressive. That eighth gear, however, is longer to help with cruising efficiency. After all, a V12 engine in a 2.18-tonne car will struggle to achieve the best fuel economy.

Ferrari designed the Purosangue to be a four-seater right from the start, so you’ll notice that in the back of the cabin there are two individual chairs. They’ve got electrical adjustment, too, and are heated. We found that there was a decent amount of space back there, but headroom could be a bit tight for taller passengers.

Oh, and Ferrari has chosen to use some very rugged materials for the floor lining. In fact, it’s bullet-proof and similar to the material used in military clothing.

Technology

Purosangue uses some of Ferrari’s latest technology. For instance, there’s a 10.2-inch display in front of the passenger, which gives them access to many of the car’s settings and controls. It’s a great-looking screen, and so long as you trust your passenger’s choice in music, it’ll make road trips even better.

There’s a new rotary-style control with a screen in the middle of it for those sitting in the back, too, allowing them to control the heating and ventilation independently of the people sitting in the front.

Suspension

Ferrari has introduced its new active suspension system on the Purosangue. Created in partnership with experts Multimatic, it sees an electric motor actuator and hydraulic damper combined into each suspension arm.

What does this bring? Well, the car’s ride can be adjusted in milliseconds, while sensors on each suspension corner can quickly and easily adjust the setup depending on the road conditions.

What Ferrari says

Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial officer, Enrico Galliera, told us: ‘Even after we announced the V12 engine, the interest exploded. This included non-Ferrari clients, so now we have a long list of customers.

‘Most of them belong to a segment where we are less visible – women and younger generations, for instance.

‘I have the pleasure to be invited by many clients to see their collections. I’m always astonished by how many there are. Every time I go to these garages they are Ferrari collectors, but then they always say “And we have this one, but to use for my family” about a different SUV or car [from another brand].

‘Then they’d say “This is your fault!”, because we don’t have a Ferrari that they can use every day with their families or to go skiing, so this is a Ferrari that they can use in all conditions.’