Spotted: Controversial exotic SUV seen in Auckland

Wednesday, 5 July 2023

The Ferrari's first SUV is more of a slightly tall wagon with a big V12 engine. And it sounds pretty damn good too...

Ferrari is the latest exotic name to join the SUV game, with the Purosangue (pronounced PURR-oh-SAHN-gway – don’t worry, I said it wrong up until today too) debuting last year.

It’s a bit of a big deal, not the least because the late boss of the Prancing Horse, Sergio Marchionne, famously said “you’ll have to shoot me” before Ferrari builds an SUV.

But it has, and it’s here. We spotted a left-hand drive show car outside the Auckland showroom, clad in black.

The Ferrari Purosangue is technically an SUV, but is really a slightly enlarged hatchback.

Except it’s not black, it’s a special paint that turns a shade of red in direct sunlight. Being in Auckland halfway through winter, there was no direct sunlight to test this theory, but it sure sounds awesome.

The rear doors of the Purosangue open and close electronically.

The SUV itself is more like a slightly raised hatchback. In fact, it’s shorter than the Subaru Crosstrek by about 14mm, but 228mm wider and 477mm longer. Specifically, it measures 4972mm in length, 2028mm in width and 1586mm in height.

Those figures make it the most compact of the super-SUVs. Compare them to the Aston Martin DBX (5039mm long, 1998mm wide, 1680mm high) and Lamborghini Urus (5113mm long, 2016mm wide, 1638mm high).

Sculpted arches and an angular nose hint at serious performance chops in the Purosangue.

One reason for that healthy length is that, instead of following most of the rest of the world in adding electrification, Ferrari stuffed a huge V12 under the bonnet of the Purosangue.

The gear selector is a nod to the gated shifter of bygone Ferraris.

It’s based on the same architecture used in other V12-powered Ferraris – a 65-degree angle between its cylinder banks, a 6.5-litre capacity, dry sump and high-pressure direct injection - but the company says it has been comprehensively redesigned to produce the highest amount of torque at low revs possible “without losing the feeling of linear, never-ending power typical of Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated V12s.”

As such, 80% of the maximum torque is on tap at just 2100 rpm and it peaks at 716Nm at 6250 rpm. Maximum power is rated at 533kW, hitting at 7750rpm, while the 0-100kph time is 3.3 seconds.

The rear doors open backwards, electrically, via a button near the B pillar. The cockpit features a steering wheel with a similar design to the SF90 – in fact the whole cockpit shares its design with the SF90 – while the centre console is quite minimal. The gear selector is a nod to the gated shifters of vintage Ferraris, which is to say, very tasty.

Unlike Lamborghini or Porsche which both now sell more SUVs than sports cars, Ferrari expects the Purosangue to eventually account for around just 20% of its total sales, with the higher price-point no doubt being a part of that strategy.

Possibly as a result of that, Ferrari is asking big money for the Purosangue with a starting figure of $689,000, but then again, Ferrari has never really been one to consider ‘bang for buck’.