Over the past few decades, Ferrari has organised Grand Tour events which has seen its cars venture to diverse corners of the planet, including the Himalayas and across the United States, just to name a few locales. This tradition continues to this day, with the most recent expedition being a 3,000-km journey from the north to the south islands of New Zealand in November last year.
Beautifully scenic, the country’s breathtaking vistas and expansive terrain was where the original Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in its entirety, and when the call came in that I would join the second leg of the three-week journey, there was plenty to be excited about. Visions of driving a Ferrari on sunbathed roads filled my mind on the long flight over.
Unfortunately, sunshine was limited, with rainfall being the norm during my two days driving the 700-km leg from Lake Taupo to Wellington. Nonetheless, one must be adaptable to any situation, and adaptability is a trait that we find in the people around us. Traits make up the character of a person, and as our friends demonstrate, no one acts or behaves identically, although some share similar traits.
Forgive going slightly off tangent, but there’s a point because adaptability is just one of the traits that Maranello’s Purosangue perfectly demonstrates. Introduced in 2022 as the brand’s first-ever four-door, four-seat model, the Purosangue was the vehicle of choice for the New Zealand Grand Tour and represents new territory for the company.
New Ferrari importer Ital Auto Malaysia has officially introduced the Ferrari Purosangue, with the model making its local debut just over a year after its global reveal. The car opens up a new segment for the Prancing Horse, being its first-ever four-door, four-seater series production model.
Measuring in at 4,973 mm long, 2,028 mm wide and 1,589 mm tall, with a 3,018 mm-long wheelbase, the Purosangue (pronounced as purr-oh-saahn-gway) has plenty of presence. While it bears more than a passing resemblance to the GTC4Lusso from certain angles, the scaled up proportions means there is more visual volume, and its shape sets it apart from the rest of the automaker’s model range.
Design novelties include the omission of a front grille, with the car instead utilising a dihedral suspended on the lower section, in which the front camera and parking sensors are neatly integrated into. Located at each side of the bonnet are the daytime running lights, which are set between two pairs of air intakes which meld into the upper part of the flanks
The upper air intake is used to channel air into the complex blown system which vents underneath the front aerobridge, while the lower intake is used to channel air to the brake cooling system. Meanwhile, the headlights sit below the DRLs, housed inside the top edges of the bumper assembly. The floating wheelarches, which help provide contrast and reduce visual bulk, are finished in black as standard, but is also available in carbon-fibre.
The Purosangue sits on an all-new chassis that the company says offers uncompromising rigidity. The lower part of the structure is made entirely from high-strength aluminium alloy, while the bodyshell is made from materials ranging from aluminium to carbon-fibre, with high-strength steel utilised in important areas.
The automaker says that the spaceframe chassis, comprised of closed-section extrusions connected by castings into which load-bearing aluminium sheet metal elements are integrated, is stiffer (+30% torsional rigidity and +25% beam stiffness) and lighter than its previous four-seaters’, despite the car being larger.
The Purosangue comes with a choice of two roofs, the first being a single-shell carbon-fibre roof with integrated soundproofing. Completely new, the unit delivers rigidity levels on par with a glass roof, while weighing 20% less than an aluminium roof with soundproofing. The other option is a full-length electrochromic glass roof.
As for wheels, the Purosangue gets its own specifically-designed forged wheels, based on the same aero concept as those on the SF90 Stradale, in which radial elements on the outer channel facilitate hot air extraction from the wheelarch. As standard, the car rides on 22-inch front (with 255/35 tyres) and 23-inch rear (315/30) wheels, which are highlighted with an elegant diamond-cut finish.
Moving into the cabin, the first novelty is presented by the car’s Purosangue’s rear doors, which are rear-hinged and opens rearwards to create a visually wide aperture when both doors are out. The electrically-operated unit – which can be accessed independent of the front – features a 79° opening, while the front door has a 63° opening, which is five degrees wider than on other Ferrari models.
As to why there is a B-pillar, the company said that while going without it was explored, the quest for performance and structural stiffness meant that it had to be retained. Despite the pillar, ingress to the rear of the cabin is accomplished without fuss, as noted on the display vehicle during the global preview of it last year.
Meanwhile, access to the boot is via a powered aluminium rear hatch, with two electric Stabilus tailgate lifters allowing the unit to be opened to 73° for easy access to the boot and provide easy loading and unloading of luggage. At 473 litres, the boot is the largest ever seen on a Ferrari, and if more space is needed, the rear seats can be folded to increase luggage space.
Still on the inside, the driver’s cockpit is inspired by the SF90 Stradale and is almost exactly mirrored on the passenger side, where a 10.2-inch display provides all the information required to help the front occupant participate in the driving experience.
Meanwhile, the driver gets the fully digital interface as seen on the rest of the automaker’s current model range. Comfort-related controls are located on a hideaway rotary interface in the central section of the dash, and the rear passengers have access to the same functions via a second rotary interface.
Standard equipment includes front seats with massage function, a Burmester 3D high-end surround sound audio system as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, with the latter substituting the traditional built-in navigation system.
Optional material choices include a brand new Alcantara formulation, which is made of 68% of post-consumer recycled polyester. Also, those looking to explore beyond traditional carpeting or leather for floor mats can opt for a bullet-proof, ballistic fabric as used in military applications.
The Purosangue arrives on the scene with only one engine choice, and that’s a naturally-aspirated petrol 6.5 litre V12. The F140IA maintains the architecture seen in the company’s recent 12-cylinder units, including a 65° angle between its cylinder banks, dry sump and high-pressure direct injection. While the cylinder heads are derived from the 812 Competizione, the intake, timing and exhaust systems have been completely redesigned.
Developing 725 PS (or 715 hp) at 7,750 rpm and 716 Nm of peak torque at 6,250 rpm, the mid-front-mounted mill is paired with an eight-speed oil-bath F1 DCT dual-clutch transmission housed at the rear to create a transaxle layout and helping to present the car with a 49:51% weight distribution.
The eight-speeder is a familiar unit, and its ratios are the same as on the SF90 Stradale and 296 GTB. Together, the combination is good enough to propel the 2,033 kg vehicle from standstill to 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and to 200 km in 10.6 seconds, on the way to a top speed of over 310 km/h.
The 4RM-S system developed for the GTC4Lusso has been reworked for the application on the Purosangue, and now inherits the innovations made to the control logic developed for the SF90 Stradale’s 4WD system, coupled with the new independent 4WS seen on the 812 Competizione.
The SUV also gets the latest iterations of the vehicle dynamic control systems seen on the company’s sports cars, including Side Slip Control, now in 8.0 form, F1-Trac and ABS ‘evo’ with the six-way Chassis Dynamic Sensor (6w-CDS). Making its world debut on the Purosangue is the new Ferrari active suspension system.
Utilising Canadian component manufacturer Multimatic’s True Active Spool Valve (TASV) System, the new suspension architecture combines 48-volt electric motor actuation with a high-precision spool valve hydraulic damper into a fully integrated system.
The company says that the electric motor ensures that body and wheels can be controlled actively with more force authority and at higher frequencies than traditional adaptive or semi-active systems. The active suspension system uses accelerometers and position sensors on each suspension corner and interfaces with SSC 8.0 and the 6w-CDS sensor.
Driver assistance kit includes adaptive cruise control (ACC), automatic emergency braking (AEB), auto high beam (HBA/HBAM), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keeping assist (LKA), blind spot detection (BSD), rear cross traffic alert (RCTA), traffic sign recognition (TSR) and driver drowsiness and attention monitoring (DDA). Meanwhile, hill descent control (HDC) makes its debut on a Ferrari.
Finally, pricing, and that for the Ferrari Purosangue starts from RM5,000,000, inclusive of duties and taxes. The quoted price includes a level of customisation options, although further personalisation will add to that. According to Ital Auto, the first deliveries for Malaysia are expected sometime in the second quarter of next year. Also making its official Malaysian debut today alongside the Purosangue is the Roma Spider.
With the official unveiling of the Ferrari Purosangue, the Italian supercar marque enters new territory with its introduction of not just its first series production four-door model, but also its first SUV.
This places the brand from Maranello in a market segment populated by luxury SUVs with high-output powertrains, and at the sharp end of the segment at that – its naturally aspirated 6.5 litre V12 petrol engine produces its maximum power of 725 PS at 7,750 rpm and peak torque of 716 Nm at 6,250 rpm, of which 80% is available from 2,100 rpm.
These propel the Purosangue from 0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and 0-200 km/h in 10.6 seconds, onwards to a top speed of more than 310 km/h. As revealed by Ferrari, the Purosangue employs a high-rpm method in delivering its performance, whereas others in this category employ turbocharging to propel their considerable mass to their impressive rates of acceleration. Naturally, in this age, electric drive is in the mix, too.
Among the turbocharged contenders is the Aston Martin DBX707, which as its model name indicates, outputs 707 PS from its AMG-sourced 4.0 litre biturbo V8 along with 900 Nm of torque. At debut, the DBX started life with the same base engine rated to produce 550 PS and 700 Nm of torque, which means that the DBX707 has uprated by 157 PS and 200 Nm, thus enabling the DBX707 to do 0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and a maximum of 310 km/h.
Purely in terms of output, Jeep also produced the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk which made 707 hp and 875 Nm, though that wasn’t aimed at quite the same heights of luxury as the key players here.
Lamborghini released its SUV entry, the Urus some time before its neighbour, Ferrari had done, and the brand from Sant’Agata Bolognese officially unveiled its tall-riding model towards the end of 2017, with 650 PS and 850 Nm propelling the Urus from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and to a top speed of 305 km/h.
An even more potent version has since arrived in the Urus Performante, packing marginally more power at 666 hp and the same peak torque figure with the benchmark 0-100 km/h sprint elapsed 0.3 second quicker at 3.3 seconds, and a top speed 1 km/h more at 306 km/h.
More significantly, the Urus set a new production SUV record at the Pike Peak International Hill Climb this year of 10:32.064, beating its own 2018 record by 17 seconds.
There are several other models from within the VW Group – which Lamborghini is part of – which use the biturbo 4.0 litre petrol V8 engine that the Urus shares, such as the Porsche Cayenne (640 PS/850 Nm in Turbo GT form), and the Audi RSQ8 (600 PS/800 Nm) and V8 versions of the Bentley Bentayga.
The crew from Crewe have ensured that the Bentayga does not miss out on the high-output party, giving it a twin-turbo 6.0 litre W12 rated to produce 635 PS and 900 Nm in the Bentayga Speed, which is good for 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 306 km/h, the latter the highest of any SUV before the Urus Performance matched it, later usurped by the DBX707.
The Bentayga isn’t the only British marque to pack lots of power and torque from a twin-turbo V12 engine, as there is also the Rolls-Royce Cullinan that makes 563 hp at 5,000 rpm and 850 Nm at 1,600 rpm, though naturally, Rolls-Royce takes a less overtly sporting approach to the super-SUV.
That said, for those who really want more from their Cullinan, there is the Black Badge that outputs 29 PS and 50 Nm more to reach 600 PS and 900 Nm.
Departing from internal combustion tradition is the Lotus Eletre, which the British sports car maker calls an electric hyper-SUV. Hethel says that the Eletre will feature outputs of at least 600 hp and all-wheel-drive, which will propel it from 0-100 km/h in under three seconds and onwards to a top speed of around 260 km/h.
Four years after it was first announced, Ferrari has finally taken the wraps off its Purosangue, the SUV making its official debut moments ago at a launch event in Pisa. The car marks a historic moment for the brand as it ventures into a body-style segment it has never had market representation in before.
Technically, the new car isn’t the company’s first ever four-door four-seater model, because the Ferrari Pinin Concept from way back in 1980 lays claim to that from a design perspective, but it is the first to see light of day as a series production model.
Measuring in at 4,973 mm long, 2,028 mm wide and 1,589 mm tall, with a 3,018 mm-long wheelbase, the shape of the Purosangue (which is pronounced purr-oh-saahn-gway) bears more than a passing resemblance to the GTC4Lusso from certain angles, albeit with heightened and amped up proportions. The front, meanwhile, borrows some design cues from the SF90 Stradale, but there are a lot of new, cleverly thought out styling cues to help differentiate it.
For one, the Purosangue doesn’t have a front grille – this has been replaced by a dihedral suspended on the lower section, in which the front camera and parking sensors are neatly integrated into. At each side of the bonnet are the DLRs, which are set between two pairs of air intakes which meld into the upper part of the flanks.
The upper air intake is used to channel air into the complex blown system which vents underneath the front aerobridge, while the lower intake is used to channel air to the brake cooling system. As for the car’s headlights, they sit well below the DRLs, housed inside the top edges of the bumper assembly.
As you’d expect from a modern Ferrari, much of the design work isn’t just visual, but also done in the name of aerodynamics. This includes creating a synergy between the front bumper and floating wheelarch trim, which generates an air curtain that aerodynamically seals the front wheels, preventing turbulent transverse air flows being generated.
Here, a duct has been created between the front bumper on the outside of the side air intakes and the vertical fin. This duct is calibrated to accelerate the flow towards the blown area in the louvre and create an energised blade of air at an angle to the outer shoulder of the tyre. The outer surface of the louvre then deflects the flow along the flank.
A note about the floating wheelarches, which are finished in black as standard but also available in carbon-fibre, but not in body colours. We asked why, and chief design officer Flavio Manzoni’s reply was that it wasn’t just for contrast, because going the body coloured route would also add too much visual bulk and reduce the sleekness of the lines.
The car looks much sharper in real-life than the photos here suggest, as when viewed in the metal at a special preview session for the global motoring press at the company’s Centro Stile facility in Maranello late last week. However, with zero photography permitted, we’ll all have to make do with the assortment of photos for now. Suffice to say, the car has good organic flow and plenty of presence.
The Purosangue sits on an all-new chassis – designed from scratch, the aim was to come up with a platform offering uncompromising rigidity. The lower part of the structure is made entirely from high-strength aluminium alloy, while the bodyshell is made from materials ranging from aluminium to carbon-fibre, with the introduction of high-strength steel in important areas.
The combination makes for a spaceframe chassis comprised of closed-section extrusions connected by castings, into which load-bearing aluminium sheet metal elements are integrated. The result is a chassis that is stiffer (+30% torsional rigidity and +25% beam stiffness) and lighter than the company’s previous four-seaters’, despite being larger.
The single-shell carbon-fibre roof with integrated soundproofing is also completely new, and delivers rigidity levels on par with a glass roof, while weighing 20% less than an aluminium roof with soundproofing. Buyers can of course opt for a full-length electrochromic glass roof. An electro-sensitive film coated on the inside of the glass allows the panel to change its tint level, depending on external light conditions.
The car gets its own specifically-designed forged wheels, based on the same aero concept as those on the SF90 Stradale, in which radial elements on the outer channel facilitate hot air extraction from the wheelarch. As standard, the car rides on 22-inch front (with 255/35 tyres) and 23-inch rear (315/30) wheels, which are highlighted with an elegant diamond-cut finish.
The eagle-eyed would have noticed from the photos that the Purosangue doesn’t have a rear windscreen wiper, and it’s because of aesthetic reasons. So how is the rear screen cleaned? The answer is with air flow along the rear glass surface.
Essentially, the lower surface of the suspended spoiler is curved to guarantee the air flow is at the right speed and direct it towards the rear screen, with two pairs of vortex generators at each end of the lower surface of the spoiler helping to optimise the uniformity of the scrubbing. Manzoni says the air cleaning works a charm, but real-world use will tell if the system performs as good as it sounds.
As for access to the cabin, the focus was on offering as much ingress space as possible whilst still keeping the wheelbase compact. The novelty to achieve this comes in the form of the Purosangue’s rear doors, which are rear-hinged and opens rearwards to create a visually wide aperture when both doors are out – going with a traditional front-opening layout would have meant increasing the wheelbase and interfering with proportions.
The electrically-operated unit – which can be accessed independent of the front – features a 79° opening, while the front door has a 63° opening, which is five degrees wider than on other Ferrari models. Despite the pillar, ingress to the rear of the cabin is quite easily accomplished without fuss, as tried on the display car at the media preview.
Some observations about the rear space. it has decent enough room in terms of head clearance, and there’s enough knee-room to not make it feel pinched, but of course, it remains to be seen how things will hold up over the course of travel for long periods.
Incidentally, you might wonder why the B-pillar has been retained – according to chief commercial and marketing officer Enrico Galliera, going without it was also explored, but in the end structural stiffness and the quest for performance meant that it had to remain.
Elsewhere, opening panels include a front-hinged bonnet, which references the Monza SP1/SP2 and other Ferraris from the past (including the Pinin Concept), and an aluminium rear hatch that is electrically activated – two electric Stabilus tailgate lifters allow the unit to be opened to 73° for easy access to the boot and provide easy loading and unloading of luggage. At 473 litres, the boot is the largest ever seen on a Ferrari, but the rear seats can be folded to increase luggage space.
Still on the inside, the driver’s cockpit is inspired by the SF90 Stradale and is almost exactly mirrored on the passenger side, where a 10.2-inch display provides all the information required to help the front occupant participate in the driving experience.
Meanwhile, the driver gets the fully digital interface as seen on the rest of the current model range. Comfort-related controls are located on a hideaway rotary interface in the central section of the dash, and the rear passengers have access to the same functions via a second rotary interface.
Standard equipment includes a Burmester 3D high-end surround sound audio system, which features the first ever application of a ribbon tweeter in a production car, front seats with massage function as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. The latter substitutes the traditional built-in navigation system.
Naturally, there’s a host of optional extras, and items on the list include a brand new Alcantara formulation – the Purosangue is the very first car in the world to offer this special version of Alcantara, which is made of 68% of post-consumer recycled polyester. Also, buyers looking to explore beyond traditional carpeting or leather for floor mats can opt for a bullet-proof, ballistic fabric as used in military applications.
Despite long-standing rumours of a number of powertrain possibilities, including, among others, the 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 plug-in hybrid setup from the SF90 and the 2.9 litre V6 hybrid system from the 296 GTB, the Purosangue arrives on the scene with only one engine choice, and that’s a naturally-aspirated petrol V12. The carmaker had previously indicated that the 812 Competizione would be its last non-hybrid V12-powered model, but as it turns out, this isn’t quite the case.
The 6.5 litre mill, known as the F140IA, maintains the architecture seen in the company’s recent 12-cylinder units, including a 65° angle between its cylinder banks, dry sump and high-pressure direct injection. While the cylinder heads are derived from the 812 Competizione, the intake, timing and exhaust systems have been completely redesigned.
The company says that much attention has been paid on improving mechanical and combustion efficiency, employing Formula 1-inspired calibration concepts, and on producing the highest amount of torque at low revs possible, with 80% of the maximum torque available from 2,100 rpm, peaking at 716 Nm at 6,250 rpm.
As for power, the engine develops a maximum output of 725 PS (or 715 hp) at 7,750 rpm. This is good enough to propel the 2,033 kg vehicle from standstill to 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and to 200 km in 10.6 seconds, on the way to a top speed of over 310 km/h.
The engine is mid-front-mounted, with the partnering eight-speed oil-bath F1 DCT dual-clutch transmission housed at the rear to create a transaxle layout and helping to present the car with a 49:51% weight distribution. The eight-speeder is a familiar unit, and its ratios are the same as on the SF90 Stradale and 296 GTB. With larger tyres, this solution gives ratios that are shorter than on previous Ferrari four-seaters, to the benefit of more progressive performance under acceleration.
The 4RM-S system developed for the GTC4Lusso has been further evolved for the application on the Purosangue, and now inherits the innovations made to the control logic developed for the SF90 Stradale’s 4WD system, coupled with the new independent 4WS seen on the 812 Competizione. Here, a Power Transfer Unit (PTU) – with revised gearing and new logic control – coupled in front of the engine provides the necessary four-wheel drive management.
The Purosangue also gets the latest iterations of the vehicle dynamic control systems seen on its sports cars, including Side Slip Control, now in 8.0 form, F1-Trac and ABS ‘evo’ with the six-way Chassis Dynamic Sensor (6w-CDS). Making its world debut on the Purosangue is the new Ferrari active suspension system.
Utilising Canadian component manufacturer Multimatic’s True Active Spool Valve (TASV) System, the new suspension architecture combines 48-volt electric motor actuation with a high-precision spool valve hydraulic damper into a fully integrated system. The company says that the electric motor ensures that body and wheels can be controlled actively with more force authority and at higher frequencies than traditional adaptive or semi-active systems.
The active suspension system uses accelerometers and position sensors on each suspension corner and interfaces with SSC 8.0 and the 6w-CDS sensor. The automaker’s proprietary control logic electronically manages every performance element of the fully active suspension system.
Driver assistance kit includes adaptive cruise control (ACC), automatic emergency braking (AEB), auto high beam (HBA/HBAM), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keeping assist (LKA), blind spot detection (BSD), rear cross traffic alert (RCTA), traffic sign recognition (TSR) and driver drowsiness and attention monitoring (DDA). The Purosangue is the first Ferrari to be equipped with hill descent control (HDC).
Four colours are available for the Purosangue at point of launch, these being silver (as seen on the presentation car), metallic white, black and a red called Nero Purosangue. As its name suggests, the shade was developed specifically for this car, and uses pigments that, in certain lighting conditions, create very intense red reflections.
As for prices, the only indication so far is that for Italy, where it will be priced from 390,000 euros (RM1.75 million), including VAT. While production is set to begin this year, first deliveries of left-hand drive examples will only start from the second quarter of 2023.
