When it comes to a reputation for designing and producing fantastic supercars, it’s not easy to rival Ferrari, which has led the class for 75 years. Of course there are more and more competitors, some of them with great value, yet no one respects the Cavallino Rampante brand, founded by Enzo Ferrari. The range of this manufacturer has so far lived on two-door coupes, with two seats or with the 2+2 solution, where two small seats in the back can accept “elegant” children and up to a certain age. That’s why there was a certain buzz when the Italian brand decided to go ahead with the design of its first family car, the Purosangue, with four doors and space for as many adults, including a suitcase that can handle the family’s bags. . This new family is shaped like an SUV, or on the limit, a crossover, because it is lower, sleek and sporty. And that’s exactly what we started looking at Italy in detail, both from the outside and the inside.
Making a crossover was a necessity for Ferrari, because After Lamborghini came up with the Urus, the SUV that represents more than 50% of annual sales, there was no doubt that this was the way forward.?? And when the brand agreed to design a four-door model, it immediately stated that it had no intention of making the same mistake as other sports car manufacturers – without specifying which – and giving the SUV more than half of its sales. let it exceed, bringing it down to just 30%. This despite the realization that the four-door and four-seater without restrictions could far exceed this bar.
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But Ferrari made different demands on its first family model. For starters, forcing him to be a real Ferrari. This means that it could not have a great distance from the ground, have a very high body, be very heavy or even appear “heavy” as its purpose was to be able to transport the family and raid off-road without any problems. to cope, even if it is civilized. But it should compose an exuberant and noble mechanics and exhibit a behavior no different from the other models of the manufacturer.
An SUV that looks like a coupe with suicide doors
As we approached the Purosangue, the Ferrari SUV it didn’t just look smaller than it actually is – is 4,973 m long and 3,018 m between the axles, against 5,137 m and 3,006 m for the Urus –, such as felt shorter than the tape measure indicates?? With a height of 1,589 m, the Ferrari is shorter than its rival Lamborghini (1,618 m), but only 2.9 cm. The deep and tapered front end, the cab set back very far and the model’s flowing shapes make it easier to identify the Purosangue as a four-door coupe than as an SUV or even a crossover.
Despite the generous wheelbase, the Ferrari family made a major concession to style, installation conventional front doors and rear suicide doors, so called because they open upside down, front to back. The need to ensure the necessary solidity of the structure prevented the disappearance of the central pillar, yet the feeling we had when we opened the doors in pairs – an act facilitated by electrical assistance, to open and close close – from large interior space and invitation to come aboard. The front doors have hidden locks, which are practical to operate, but the rear doors have only a small lever that is barely visible, which only requires a little pressure on the electric lock to open the door.
Purosangue’s chassis has been completely redesigned by the brand, making it light despite its length. When using steel, aluminum and carbon fiber, the dry weight is only 2033 kg and under homologation conditions should be about 2120 kg, that is: 100 kg under the Urus?? To achieve perfect mass distribution between the two axles (49.5% front and 50.5% rear), Ferrari chose to front engine and rear gearboxa solution already introduced in the Ferrari FF.
A cabin where everyone seems to be behind the wheel
After enjoying the look of the model, it was time to get on board. We started by getting behind the wheel, the best seat in a Ferrari. Seated higher than usual in a car of the brand, it becomes clear that access is much easier than in two-door coupes.especially for those who are older or heavier. Visibility is also superior, even to the rearwhereby the bank is understood as if it were a drumstick competition, yet with the necessary support and comfort.
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A . appears in front of the driver dashboard (which is almost symmetrical)with a digital instrument panel through which all functions of the vehicle are accessible, as we have already seen in the also new 296 GTS. The riding position is good and the distance from the roof suggests that even the tallest adults will have no trouble getting on board. But despite the generous center console, which invites you to rest your arm and store objects, the Purosangue respects the traditional interior of the Cavallino . brand modelswhere not even the manettino for the various chassis and mechanical modifications.
Whoever goes next door, of course, has a comparable chair available. But for you is a 10.2” touchscreen similar to that of the driver, which allows you to monitor what the driver is doing, as well as the mechanical situation. But this is only for the most curious of passengers, as the rest prefer to select their favorite songs on Spotify or help with the navigation system.
Access to the rear seats is easier than we expected, since the suicide door opened at 79º there is more than enough room to perform the “maneuver”. The rear seats look identical to the front seats and even an adult over 1.9 meters tall can easily accommodate without even feeling trapped, given the size and height of the door glass. Closing the tailgate once seated and wearing a seat belt proves to be easier in this type of door that opens from front to back.
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If you like the space in the back, what about the trunk. Without making any major concessions, as the rear is quite short, the Purosangue offers a suitcase with 473 litersvolumetry that allows you to anticipate a holiday trip with a Ferrari or even shop for a month without having to change cars. It’s like kit of the bags that the brand will produce, it will be possible to examine each of those dms down to the millimeter3??
The best Ferrari engine and many other tricks
To make the Purosangue move, Ferrari resorted to its… best and most renowned enginethe naturally aspirated 6.5 V12, so that the turbos do not muffle the characteristic roar of the mechanics. With 725 hp and 716 Nm, more power but less torque than the Urus Performante (666 hp / 850 Nm), the well-known Ferrari mounts the V12 centrally in the front., as already happens with the two-door coupes that also use this V12, which forces a longer front. And if you look at the photo we published in the gallery, it becomes clear that: despite the 6.5 V12 being a generous length, it sits completely behind the previous axle??
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If the engine placement aids in the correct distribution of mass between the two axles (49.5% front and 50.5% rear), this would not have been possible without Ferrari pulling another trump card and the dual-clutch gearbox and eight gears on the rear axle, connected to the engine by a transaxle shaft. In the trumps chapter, the active suspensions, the four-wheel steering and the four-wheel drive system are also discussed.
The Ferrari Purosangue has ensured success, which will not translate into increased sales volume, just because the Italians do not want to ‘scare’ their traditional customers and become a manufacturer that mainly sells bulkier and heavier vehicles. Perhaps for this reason, the Purosangue will not compete for exactly the same customers as the Lamborghini Urus, obviously more voluminous and spacious, in the passenger compartment and in the trunk. If the Urus is clearly an SUV, the Ferrari is more in line with crossover status., exchanging some interior space for more maneuverability and lightness, to optimize behaviour. The top speed of 310 km/h and the ease with which it announces 3.3 seconds from 0-100 km/h and 10.6 seconds from 0-200 km/h are just some of the arguments that allow it to status of the fastest SUV on the market, and the determinants will be the lowest weight and lowest height compared to the competition.
