2023 Ferrari Purosangue – 7 facts you should know

This is it – Ferrari’s first ever high-riding crossover SUV-like offering, and it’s called the Purosangue (or ‘Thoroughbred’ in the Italian language). There’s plenty to talk about, but we’ve narrowed it down to 7 essential things and areas you ought to know about Maranello’s groundbreaking first four-door offering.

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1. It’s NOT an SUV according to Ferrari

Yes, Ferrari refuses to refer to the Purosangue as an SUV, crossover, or anything of that sort. In fact, the famed prancing horse marque insists it is a proper sportscar instead. Well, given Fact #5, we’ll let Ferrari’s argument slide for now.

What’s certain is the fact this so-called ‘sportscar’ has all the dimension of an SUV – it’s 4,973mm long, 2,028mm wide, and 1,589mm tall with 185mm of ground clearance. It also packs an all-wheel-drive (AWD) suite too, just as how an SUV typically would.

Like its peers that Ferrari won’t admit the Purosangue being similar to (Bentayga, Cullinan, Urus, and DBX), the Purosangue’s cabin is large and spacious enough to accommodate four occupants, and it presents so in a high degree of luxury that includes massage seats, hence Ferrari’s ‘sporty lounge’ description for it.

Oh, there’s even a rather huge 473-litre boot present, which can be further expanded thanks to foldable rear seats – just like an SUV. Still not convinced by Ferrari’s argument that the Purosangue is NOT an SUV?

2. It’s constructed upon a new and specially built platform

Poised to replace the GTC4 Lusso (both the turbo V8 ‘T’ and flagship V12 variants) shooting brake, Ferrari’s first ever series production four-door offering rides on a new and specially designed architecture. Not only much stiffer than the bones of the GTC4 Lusso, it’s also blessed with plenty of clever tech that ensures the Purosangue acts and drives like any of its sportscar cousins.

Said platform consists of aluminium alloy in its lower structure, whilst a carbon fibre roof structure is fitted as standard to reduce weight and lower its centre of gravity. The result sees a platform that’s not only lighter than previous four-seat Ferraris, but also one that’s larger overall.

Key chassis equipment include a new active suspension suite that features a fast-reacting electric motor on each shock that spins up to supply pressure and counteract body roll, independent four-wheel steering, six-way chassis dynamic sensor, Ferrari’s ‘ABS Evo’ brake-by-wire system to match the massive carbon ceramic brakes primed, as well as Ferrari’s signature side-slip angle control suite that enables the act of ‘drifting’ or ‘power-sliding’.

Whilst here, we’ll also note that the Ferrari Purosangue rolls on massive 22-inch (front) and 23-inch (rear) alloy wheels wrapped in surprisingly low-profile tyres. This, as well as the absence of any serious off-road driving footage in the official launch video posted above, suggests that the Purosangue feels a lot more at home on the asphalt rather than off it, and perhaps the next fact exudes this point further…

3. It’s has proper Ferrari sportscar styling and aerodynamics

The Purosangue may have the size and bulk of an SUV, but it certainly doesn’t look like one. In fact, Ferrari spent a lot of time and effort in developing the aerodynamics of the bodywork. Both the rear diffuser and underbody allow the Purosangue to cut through the air as efficiently as possible, whilst the front bumper and wheel arch trim were engineered to create an air curtain that aerodynamically "seals" the front wheels and negate turbulent airflows from being generated there.

At the rear, it sports a rear spoiler that further optimises the way the Purosangue cuts through the air. Additionally, the spoiler has another purpose, too: it cleans the rear window. This is possible through the rear wing’s lower surface that directs towards the rear window, thus keeping it clean without needing a rear window wiper. And this isn’t the coolest bit of the Purosangue’s exterior design…

4. It has ‘coach’ doors

Perhaps Ferrari took some cues from Rolls-Royce and its Cullinan offering here. Yup, as its historic first four-door offering, Ferrari opted for coach-style doors for the Purosangue, which sees it adopt rear-hinged rear doors and enabling that opens up backwards. Ferrari even added an electric-powered self-closing mechanism for these rear-hinged doors, meaning closing them only requires the press of a button. Neat.

5. It packs a V12 from the 812 Superfast/GTS

As its first ever four-door offering, Ferrari decided the Purosangue deserves an equally-grand statement. With that, the Maranello-based firm elected to plonk the 6.5-litre, dry-sumped and high-pressure direct-injected 65-degree V12 from the 812 Superfast (and 812 GTS) in all its naturally aspirated glory into the Purosangue, albeit with slightly detuned output readings of 715 hp and 716 Nm.

Said outputs are managed by both a new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) mounted over the rear axle plus a trick AWD system that features a smaller transfer case mounted in front just ahead of the engine. Similar in layout to the V12-powered GTC4 Lusso, it grants the Purosangue with a near-perfect front-to-rear weight distribution ratio of 49:51 too.

Of course, the mill also grants some serious speeds too with Ferrari claiming 0-100 kmh and 0-200 kmh times of 3.3 seconds and 10.6 seconds respectively, plus a claimed V-max of beyond 309 kmh. Though these are figures we’ve come to expect of any V12-packing Ferrari, the fact that these stem from a SUV weighing in at roughly 2,033kg (dry) is nothing short of remarkable.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, Ferrari have also fitted an equally sizeable 100-litre fuel tank to feed this mill with. Planning to fill it up with RON97? At its current price, a full fill-up will cost you over RM400. Crikey! Perhaps the next fact *might* be welcoming news for some…

6. It *might* get a hybrid variant later

Even before today’s official launch, rumours were rife that Ferrari will offer the Purosangue with a hybrid petrol-electric powertrain option that’s not too dissimilar to what’s seen in either the 296 and SF90. However, Ferrari has kept mum regarding this, dropping no hints of any plans as such with today’s launch.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that the platform the Purosangue rides on being built primarily to house Ferrari’s flagship V12, the marque says it would “not be very hard” for them to adapt it with any other powertrains in has.

Like the GTC4 Lusso range it’s poised to replace, Ferrari *might* offer the Purosangue in a lower-grade with a smaller engine (ala the GTC4 Lusso T) in the near future. Should this be the case, we’re almost certain it will be electrified.

7. Ferrari will ‘limit’ its production

Not only is Ferrari adamant about not calling the Purosangue an SUV, it also stands firm at being a sportscar builder first. In other words, Ferrari doesn’t want to turn itself into an SUV-led business as how some rivals such as Aston Martin and Lamborghini have in recent years.

To that end, Ferrari claims the Purosangue will never take more than 20% of the brand’s total sales. Ferrari is reportedly on track towards delivering more cars than ever this year, which totals over 12,000 units. At this rate, Ferrari expects to deliver no more than 2,500 units of the Purosangue annually.

Left: Lamborghini Urus Performante.
Right: Aston Martin DBX707

To put that in perspective, rivals Lamborghini delivered 5,021 units of its Urus SUV in 2021 alone, with said model accounting for more than half of the 8,405 total vehicles it sold throughout 2021. Similarly, Aston Martin sold 2,186 units of its DBX model in 2021, which also accounts for more than half of its 2021 total of 4,250 cars sold.

In short, prospecting customers keen on acquiring the Purosangue will have to wait a little given Ferrari’s aim at prioritising its core sportscars builds and deliveries over the Purosangue’s.