Ferrari’s Purosangue pseudo-SUV dons production bodywork for the first time
We’ve already observed Ferrari’s upcoming pseudo-SUV, the Purosangue (translation: “Pureblood”) racing around the track in Maserati drag. The existence of such an, erm, aspirational Horse has been in the works for several years, but now, for the first time, we’ve caught a glimpse of a prototype wearing production-spec bodywork.
Of course, it’s also wearing a mattress store’s worth of camo. We can still get an idea of this FUV’s final proportions, however, which are a strange mix of SUV and station wagon. (FUV is Maranello’s preferred terminology for this vehicle, before you ask. As in, “Ferrari Utility Vehicle.” Cue Enzo turning in his grave.) The Purosangue prototype is reminiscent of the FF and the GTC4Lusso wagons that have gone before it, though ostensibly with a taller rear end. Even Ferrari’s designers will have a tough time making these, uh, generously rumped proportions look elegant.
The clear objective for this not-an-SUV-but-also-not-a-station-wagon is simple: sales. The monetary success of SUV-like haulers at high-end luxury and performance brands is well-proven. See: Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Aston Martin DBX. Such leather-clad, stilted luxury pods are fashion statements par excellence, but we can’t ignore the fact that these vehicles in many ways pad the margins so companies can keep developing the toys we really want: The 911s, the Vantages, the Huracan STOs, the F8 and SF90 and 812 Superfast and all the rest of Maranello’s glorious alphabet minestrone.
Still, as one can derive from the entirely misleading name, Ferrari will slather some nostalgic icing on the “Purosangue,” if only for marketing purposes. The vehicle could, for instance, be one of (if not the) last Ferrari to have a non-electrically assisted V-12. A hybrid powertrain is almost guaranteed—likely centered around a V-8. Expect this pseudo-SUV to be geared to the pavement, as suggested by previous on-track footage, and display zero off-road pretensions.
Morbidly fascinated? Mysteriously excited? The Purosangue is expected to be revealed in full in 2022. We may not have long to wait.
