The new Ferrari Purosangue SUV will make its debut later this year, with its arrival confirmed as part of the Italian brand’s 2021 financial report.
The new Ferrari Purosangue SUV will make its debut later this year, with its arrival confirmed as part of the Italian brand’s 2021 financial report.
It’ll be the Ferrari’s first ever off-roader – and has been designed to rival luxury models such as the Aston Martin DBX, the Lamborghini Urus and the Bentley Bentayga. Ferrari also confirmed that first deliveries of its SUV will commence in 2023.
The company’s marketeers describe the Purosangue as a “Ferrari Utility Vehicle.” Our recent spy shots (which show the car in its production bodywork) suggest it’ll be anything but utilitarian, though, as it has a relatively low ride-height and a low-slung silhouette.
Whereas the DBX and the Urus sit tall and upright with relatively short overhangs, the Purosangue has a long bonnet, a steeply raked windscreen and a fairly long wheelbase.
The rear overhang is also extensive, while the rear wheels appear to be a little larger in diameter than the fronts – just like a supercar. However, that could just be a quirk of the way the prototype has been set up.
Because it rides so low, we expect Ferrari will fit the Purosangue with ride height-adjustable air suspension. Quad-exit exhausts are also visible on this prototype, as are a set of enormous cross-drilled brake discs and huge calipers.
Our exclusive images show how the finished Purosangue could look once the camouflage is pulled off. We expect it’ll draw on the Roma GT car for some design inspiration, sharing the same bonnet lines, grille shape and flared haunches.
While the Purosangue’s styling doesn’t point towards it being particularly practical – in the SUV world, at least – it’ll be the most spacious model in Ferrari’s line-up. There’s a four-door, four-seat layout and a hatchback tailgate.
In essence, then, the SUV will become an indirect replacement for the GTC4 Lusso four-seat coupe, which Ferrari pulled from its price list at the end of 2020.
New 2022 Ferrari Purosangue SUV: platform and engines
Ferrari has already confirmed that the Purosangue will be based on the same platform as the Roma GT. Former Chief Technology Officer Michael Leiters told us: “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 independently 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 Automotive Daily: “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.”
Spy videos of Purosangue mules have already started to circulate on social media, some of which feature a very distinct 12-cylinder engine note. However, as the Purosangue will share its underpinnings with the Roma GT, we expect it’ll also be available with that car’s turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 engine.
In this GT car the unit produces 456kW and 760Nm of torque, which is likely to be a constant across the two models. Given the amount of extra space available in the Purosangue’s body, though, Ferrari could shift away from the Roma’s rear-drive layout and move instead to a four-wheel drive set-up.
Ferrari will unveil the Purosangue later this year, although the brand hasn’t yet confirmed a date for the car’s launch event.
Luke Wilkinson