This is our first look at the new 2022 Ferrari Purosangue SUV, caught on camera by our spy photographers in the hands of Ferrari engineers.
Spied undergoing assessment on track, this prototype borrows some of its body panels from the Maserati Levante, so it isn’t a definitive glimpse as to what Ferrari’s first SUV will look like.
Look closely and you’ll see that the SUV’s wheel arches have been flared to clear the wider Purosangue platform and the front bumper has larger intakes. The entire car also sits lower to the ground than a normal Levante.
When it goes on sale next year, the Ferrari Purosangue will face-off against a growing number of ultra-premium performance SUVs, such as the Aston Martin DBX, Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.
The spy shots don’t reveal enough about the Purosangue’s design to give an indication of what it will look like when it arrives on roads next year, but our exclusive images could point in the correct direction. It may feature some of the design elements of the Roma GT, retaining the grand tourer’s long bonnet, short tail and flared haunches. However, the front of the SUV will likely use a more conventional radiator grille.
At the rear, a practical hatchback would make the SUV more usable, providing a larger boot and an easier load lip – both of which are factors not usually at the forefront of a Ferrari engineer’s mind. It will likely trump the GT4C Lusso for space and practicality.
New 2022 Ferrari Purosangue: platform and powertrains
Ferrari confirmed that the Purosangue will be based on the same platform as the Roma GT. Michael Leiters, Ferrari’s Chief Technology Officer explained: “In general we will have two families of architecture – front- and rear-engine families.
“The modularity is there and, especially on the front-engined architecture, we have to foresee many more models. We have a 2+2, we have a 4+, we are thinking about Purosangue, and so on.”
Leiters also mentioned that the SUV’s platform is capable of accepting either V6, V8 or V12 engines, which suggests the Purosangue could be available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, similar in design to the unit found in the SF-90 Stradale.
However, we expect the former two units are the most likely candidates for electrical assistance. Ferrari will continue to develop its 6.5-litre V12 engine independent of hybrid drive, as combining such a heavy combustion engine with an even heavier electric motor and battery pack is not favoured by the company’s engineers.
Ferrari’s Chief Marketing Officer, Enrico Galliera, told Auto Express: “To be honest, electrifying a V12 means creating – very probably – a heavy and big car. So electrification ideally should be coupled with smaller engines. The philosophy is to try to be ready with different technologies in order to use them with the necessary evolution,” he added. “That’s why we have a wide range of engines: V12, V8 and, in the future, the V6.”
As the Purosangue will share its underpinnings with the Roma, we expect it’ll use the same turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 engine. In the GT, the unit produces 456kW and 760Nm – which is likely to be a constant across the two models. However, Ferrari could shift away from the Roma’s rear-drive layout, given the amount of extra space available in the Purosangue’s body, moving instead to a four-wheel-drive system.
Don’t be surprised if we see a V12 option either – it would give Ferrari’s SUV serious differentiation compared with rivals from Aston Martin and Lamborghini, with the Bentley Bentayga Speed the only other 12-cylinder super-SUV thanks to its W12 layout.
Luke Wilkinson