Gargnano, Italy – A day of skiing in the Dolomites with a Ferrari Purosangue, everything is as clear as the skies over northern Italy: if the plan is to send onlookers twirling in ski boots, the Purosangue instantly becomes the fastest, most thrilling car on earth Gondola to dream about. Right now, for $398,350, plus about $50,000 to $100,000 in options, you too can transport your partner and kids in cute Moncler up the slopes of Aspen, Chamonix, or Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta in Italy play. Just know that despite driving the first Ferrari SUV in history, you may still need a roof rack.
Now, if you’re still crying about Ferrari making an “SUV,” stop: you sound like the grumpy guy who’s still shaking his fist at Porsche Cayennes, Alfa Stevios, and Mustang Mach-Es. Maybe you’re just as grumpy. See, the world started turning to SUVs about 25 years ago when the original Explorer started turning. The breed has morphed and evolved so many times that the old pejorative term “SUV” barely describes most of today’s car-based crossovers, which are closer to hatchbacks and wagons than to Hummers and wagons. This is definitely the case with Purosangue.
In Italy, stylish Ferrari executives cringe only at the catch-all term “crossover” before admitting that designer shoes are the best fit. Just look at this Ferrari’s slightly raised silhouette or the red-painted valve covers on its naturally aspirated V12 engine, and it’s clear that the Purosangue is less an SUV than a vaguely styled Wonder Wagon.Another glance, this time at the scrawny cargo area behind a pair of oddly shaped rear seats, suggests that the hatchback — at 16.7 square feet — is theoretically smaller than every subcompact SUV car blog The goods have been tested. That still makes it the largest boot in a production Ferrari, and while Ferrari has a storied history of 2+2 models, including the latest GTC4 Lusso, “+2” usually means two bespoke suitcases. Or in rare cases, the flexible son of a divorced Monaco playboy. So, in another Ferrari first, the Purosangue reasonably conjures humans into the (heated, raked) rear seat without overstretching the wheelbase and ruining its provocative front-engine, shark-nosed proportions.
The solution is a pair of nifty rear-hinged suicide doors that can be fully opened or closed simply by pulling the outer tabs or pressing an inner button. A massive rear hinge supports each Sesame door entry. Once in the car, 6-foot-tall adults will find a suitable perch, even though their heads are partly inside the window opening that borders the headliner. For the first time in Ferrari’s 75 years, though, its owners are even considering letting adult friends and family sit in the back for a dream ride or dinner for four.
A cheeky colleague showed up at our media campaign in a Lamborghini Urus Performante, but an upgrade attempt by the Italian only clarified how easy the theoretical option was (more on that later). Urus is fast and capable, has 641 horses to Ferrari’s 715, and sells for $133,350 less start. But next to Ferrari’s sleek snow leopard, the Lambo looks like a berserk hippopotamus (or a groomed Audi Q8). Also, the Purosangue features a 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated, hand-built Ferrari V12 rather than the twin-turbo V8s from Audi and the Volkswagen Group. Purosangue means “pure breed” or more literally “pure blood” in Italian; the name is not without merit. Apply Multimatic’s new active suspension for the first time, Ferrari’s trick three-speed front transaxle, four-wheel steering and an encyclopedia of F1-derived tech found on previous Ferraris, and you’ll feel like this isn’t just your usual ultra-luxury off-roader.
Inside, a slender console bisects the two rear seats, making it impossible for five passengers. The console incorporates a cool pop-up knob and a recessed screen that repeats on the dash to manage the climate controls. Up front, the knob accentuates the dual-cockpit layout, eschewing any central screens. This places an emphasis on design, materials and human-centric performance, including a pair of stunning driver and passenger mirror-matched compasses. The extended cabin, surrounded by an aluminum-intensive chassis and a weight-saving carbon-fibre roof (or optional electrochromic roof), makes room for the best sound system of any Ferrari to date: the Burmester sound system, with German An audiophile brand, it packs 1,420 watts and 21 speakers, including a beautiful ribbon tweeter and a subwoofer.
The Purosangue features fully digital instrumentation and HMI from the rest of Ferrari’s range, including a functionally expanded 10.3-inch passenger-side screen. The driver’s screen displays a 1 and 0 version of Ferrari’s classic yellow tachometer, showing the V12 crescendoing to a peak of 8,250 rpm. But Ferrari is asking a single screen to do too much, including accommodating phone-based navigation—wireless Apple CarPlay is already on board, and wireless Android Auto is coming soon. There is no onboard sat-nav. To make matters worse, that screen is managed by a terribly awkward thumbtip on the striking carbon-fibre-rimmed steering wheel. It’s just as unlucky as the haptics, stubbornly refusing commands or skipping desired screen icons. A simple scroll wheel and switch plate would be an easy improvement. Even settling on the radio station or hanging out on navigation can become a worryingly distracting exercise.that’s you No Want a $500,000 “SUV” with 715 horsepower.
Those 715 horses coming from a naturally aspirated V12 is surprising since many thought the 812 Superfast would have the last Ferrari 12 cylinder, at least not a hybrid. Now it’s Purosangue’s turn. Remember, Ferrari only produced V12 models, from the groundbreaking 1.5-liter 125S in 1947 to the Dino-badged 308 GT4 in 1974, which introduced the marque’s first V8.
Like the 812 and its various predecessors, the Purosangue’s excellent V12 engine sits entirely behind the front axle, sending power through the rear transaxle. Despite the extra gears, the new eight-speed DCT transmission sheds 12 pounds over the 812’s seven-speed unit. It is matched to the 296 GTB’s gear ratios, including short first to sixth gears, and long seventh and eighth gears for easier cruising and lower fuel consumption. Still, the Purosangue weighs nearly 1,000 pounds more than the 812 Superfast, and with the addition of AWD, would be a serious glutton for premium unleaded gas—it shows I can hit 10 in spirited driving -12 mpg. With a curb weight of 4,774 pounds, the Ferrari is about 100 pounds lighter than the Urus.
The Purosangue actually drives a lot like the 812, with its loafer lift and more pounds around the waist.It takes on that same double-agent personality when you switch at the wheel Manettino The setup: one part GT smoothie, one part ruthless assassin who can get it, and its wingman, instantly crucified by the cops. Ferrari cites a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) burst of 3.3 seconds, 10.6 seconds to 124 mph (200 km/h) and a top speed of over 193 mph. Some neck-breaking samples of auto launch control confirm our meteoric progress.
Ferrari conjures up all its measurable chassis magic, making the Purosangue more agile and fun than it should be. Up front, a compact three-speed transmission, less than 7 inches long, splits torque between the front wheels to improve traction and quell understeer and inertia. We continue onto a snow-clogged dirt road, just below the express lift to the Madonna di Campiglio ski area, which Ferrari has commandeered to show off Purosangue’s winter skills. After a shotgun-seat reconnaissance with an Italian pro rally driver—yes, the Purosangue can definitely drift between trees—I took the wheel and immediately found grip and built confidence.
The only scary part is wondering who, in the real world, sucks snow and ice from those hulking, staggered wheels with 22-inch forged alloys up front and 23-inchers out back. A sympathetic glance at our muddy Ferrari reveals its myriad air management strategies. What looks like a decorative SUV body cladding is actually composite, and the floating wheel arches help smooth out air turbulence. A subtle roof spoiler channels air through dual channels and helps clear the wiperless rear glass.
Ferrari’s active suspension technology deserves a mention because it’s never been tried on a car before. In collaboration with the Canadian MultiMatic gurus (perhaps most famously the builders of the Ford GT), their TASV (TrueActive SpoolValve) dampers integrate a worm gear and screws inside the damper. The damper’s 48-volt electric motor is networked with a host of F1-derived systems, adjusting body roll, yaw, pitch and dive at 50-millisecond intervals. This eliminates the need for air springs or heavier, relatively monolithic anti-roll bars. For the first time, the body of the car operates on a completely independent multi-directional control circuit instead of the suspension and wheels. The worm gear and screw react to steering forces and apply active force to the body or wheels to counteract them, even if the wheel drops into a hole or the suspension chatters on the washboard surface.
When entering a corner, the Purosangue automatically lowers itself and resolves every road imperfection, even if the body remains unusually flat. A practical consequence is that drivers can keep the Ferrari on the softest suspension setting – even on track – with zero loss of performance.There’s even a separate button suspension control now Manettinothough the only reason to go for a firmer setup is if you want to feel more bumps and jostling through your hands.
I tried it myself, pulling the Purosangue up Monte Bondone’s wicked winter zig-zags, with autoclimbing legends dating back to the 1920s. Skiers on nearby slopes once again kept their eyes peeled for the arrival of their homegrown heroes, as the massive Ferrari hung on four winter tires – a seasonal requirement in Italy – and howled like madmen. As ever, the V12 has to take a breather before the sprint, because its lungs aren’t filling up with turbocharged air and fuel.The solution is to keep the engine in the sweet spot and then it will be fine Sweet Life.
Later descents proved even more desolate, and it was time to rock: the Purosangue flew at more than 130 mph on its salt-crusted descent, 12 cylinders pumping out an addictive redline. On these steep, tricky descents, I’m mentally thankful for the feel-good brake-by-wire system inherited from the 296 GTB for keeping this heavy beast in check. In the latter part of the Autostrada, I let it fly, and the LED shift light flickered like a Christmas tree on the rim of the steering wheel.
Rest assured, then, this is a real Ferrari; everyday space and versatility not available in the FF two-door shooting brake and its GTC4Lusso successor. It also has decidedly more features and performance. Lamborghini, Bentley and Aston Martin immediately produced enough SUVs to make them best-sellers, while Ferrari vowed to limit the Purosangue to 20 percent of total production.This means about 2,000 copies per year worldwide, almost all of which are used for card carry tifossey Own the history of previous new Ferraris. make sense. Thoroughbreds should be rare.
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