Like it or not, SUVs are proving more profitable for car makers than ever – premium and luxury segments included. Porsche is already developing its third-generation Cayenne, while over in Italy, you ought to know all about the coming Maserati Levante and Lamborghini Urus by now.
The Bentley Bentayga is a luxury behemoth, and while Rolls-Royce prefers to refer to its coming model simply as a vehicle that will “cross any terrain,” it is still an SUV, no less. The only major brand to skip having an SUV thus far, has been Ferrari.
“You’ll have to shoot me first,” said Sergio Marchionne, when asked recently if the stables of the Prancing Horse would consider adopting an SUV. The recently-appointed Ferrari chairman may have been abrupt, but still unwavering in his opinion, according to CarAdvice.
Marchionne was quizzed after Ferrari NV’s shares dipped disappointingly in the New York Stock Exchange recently. It is reported that the company had also endured a difficult fourth quarter in 2015, with sales in China falling by 22%.
The current chairman’s comments echo the brand’s design boss, Flavio Manzoni’s recent sentiments. “It is not within our DNA and it’s not something we are ever going to look at. Ferrari is not a follower. We cannot make something just because this is the normal trend. It wouldn’t be a Ferrari,” said Manzoni last year, when quizzed over the same issue.
“Enzo Ferrari would turn in his grave,” Manzoni concluded. For now, the closest thing to a Ferrari SUV will remain the four-wheel drive, four-seat Ferrari FF.
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Just because everybody wants a dolphin tattoo doesn’t mean you have to have one. Hehehe.. Ferrari is right with this one.