Most car buyers have more or less warmed up to the idea of performance and luxury car brands making SUVs, a concept that was previously considered sacrilegious. Just look at the success of cars like the Lamborghini Urus or the Porsche Cayenne.
But a Ferrari SUV? That’s a step too far for some revheads… Nevertheless, it’s happening. Back in 2018, Ferrari confirmed they’re jumping on the SUV bandwagon with their very own high-performance crossover, named the Purosangue (Italian for ‘pure-blooded’ or ‘thoroughbred’, and named after a noble Italian horse breed).
Ferrari has been characteristically tight-lipped about the development of the Purosangue, but a few spy shots have emerged over the years – none of which have given a particularly good look at the car. Until now, that is. Just hours ago, Italian car spotter @moriacolom shared some spy shots from Ferrari’s home in Maranello which give us the best look yet at the upcoming Prancing Horse.
Watch these revealing spy shots of the Ferrari Purosangue below.
What makes these spy shots so exciting is that they actually reveal what the body of the Purosangue is likely to look like. Previously spotted Purosangue test mules have used Ferrari GTC4Lusso or Maserati Levante bodies, so these two – despite their odd black cladding and ‘dazzle’ paint job respectively – are seriously revelatory.
The spy shots confirm that the Purosangue will indeed have four doors. This is perhaps unsurprising, considering it’s an SUV, but it’s still big news – Ferrari has famously never made a four-door, with the exception of the one-off Ferrari Pinin concept car they exhibited at the 1980 Turin Motor Show.
We already know some technical details about the Purosangue: it will be based on the same platform as the recently released Ferrari Roma coupe and is designed to replace the GTC4Lusso shooting brake. While Car Magazine has confirmed they’ll be dumping a stonking big ~600kW V12 in the thing, Ferrari also has plans to offer a V8 hybrid V8 variant.
On top of that, Ferrari is also developing two all-electric cars, codenamed F244 and F245, that’ll be based on the Purosangue and will launch between 2024 and 2026. Ferrari has already started their march towards electrification with their first production plug-in hybrid model, the SF90 Stradale, which launched in 2019. (The LaFerrari, which came out in 2016, was also a hybrid, but only saw limited production and utilised a Formula One-style KERS system).
Now if you thought a Ferrari SUV was blasphemous, a Ferrari EV might be even worse… But as far as we’re concerned, it’s good news – on both counts.
Ferrari is unlikely to ever stop making coupes or traditional sports cars, but there’s undoubtedly a market for performance SUVs. The Purosangue will inevitably sell well and its success will help bankroll other cars that are more to traditionalists’ liking, as well as Ferrari’s myriad racing programs, such as their Formula One team.
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We’re just keen to see how it will weigh up against the already-impressive field of performance and luxury SUVs. Watch this space.