Purosangue The car that Ferrari "does not want" to sell
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Months after having seen it in Maranello, we have now been able to drive the new Ferrari Purosangue.
Where?
In the Dolomites, in Ferrari territory, very close to Madonna di Camipiglio,
where the Schumachers or Alonso celebrated the start of each Formula 1 season by sliding down the impressive tracks of the Italian mountain range.
This is the car that celebrates the start of a new stage in the brand.
Because it is the first SUV in its history (or, to respect the misgivings of its creators, who renounce that definition), but also the first four-seat, four-door model in 75 years of Italian magic.
Then another barrier will be broken when an electric sports car arrives... but that will be in 2025.
Because times change and tastes change, according to the justification that they gave us in Maranello to explain the reason for this car:
"They asked for a more versatile car, to travel and use with the family. The demand was tremendous. And now they are given the conditions to be able to have it"
Price from 440,000 euros
In summer the first units will arrive in Spain... but only for those who ordered it in time, before even revealing themselves.
The production of the first two years is already committed and Ferrari does not want it to become the best-selling model (as happens at Porsche with the Cayenne or at Lamborghini with the Urus).
No, it will not exceed 20% of the total production capacity (which last year exceeded 12,000 units).
And that there would be much more demand even when its price is 440,000 euros..., although almost all Ferrari customers personalize their cars, so each unit you
see on the street will have a label of more than half a million euros .
we get behind the wheel
Seen in real traffic and alongside other cars, the Purosangue is even prettier and more aggressive.
It is large, almost five meters long and a width worthy of a prototype in the highest category of the Dakar.
But its line achieves a double effect: it very clearly identifies it as a sports car (the long hood that houses the atmospheric V12 is largely to blame) and, at the same time, makes it appear more compact.
The rear, with the spectacular diffuser and the two double exhaust outlets finish off that identity.
Big car... and heavy: almost 2,100 kilos empty
... A handicap that no other Ferrari had had to deal with until now and that requires the right weapons.
Starting with a very powerful engine.
The most powerful SUV on the market
"From the moment we announced that the Ferrari Purosangue engine would be an atmospheric V12, interest skyrocketed," replied Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's commercial and marketing director, to a very clear question: Why an atmospheric V12 in
full era of electrification?
Surely it will not be a very correct option
(17.3 liters on average and 393 gr/km of average emissions)
but it is listening to it roar and the doubts are over.
The melody of the Italian V12 dwarfs the spectacular 3D sound system that Burmeister has created especially for Ferrari -equipping a car of the brand for the first time- while triggering the driver's heartbeat.
It is easy to get carried away by the rumble that it emits between 6,000 and almost 8,000 rpm in its red zone... but the calibration is different from what we remembered in twelve-cylinder sports cars.
Now there is a lot of torque available (80% of the 716 Nm) from far below, something necessary for its other side: family use.
Its 725 horsepower make it the most powerful SUV (or 'whatever it is') on the market, above Aston Martin's DBX707 or Lamborghini's Urus Performante
.
But more than the numbers, which speak for themselves (3.3 seconds for 0-100, a figure that you can easily get close to using Launch Control, or more than 310 km/h top), which is impressive. It is the forcefulness with which it accelerates.
To another level in dynamism
But best of all is... that the best is not the engine.
Or, at least, it's not the only good thing.
The Purosangue chassis (newly developed, of course) really manages to transfer the driving sensations of a traditional Ferrari to a body of almost 2,200 kilos in running order.
The secret is its new active suspension -developed together with Multimatic- in which hydraulic shock absorbers are combined with a 48v electrical system that acts faster and more times (200 per second)
to control the body (it can lower it up to 10 mm in any situation) and the wheels.
Its efficiency is spectacular and Now, in the 'manettino' of the steering wheel we not only select the driving program (Wet, Comfort, Sport and ESC Off) but also the hardness of the suspension (Comfort, Normal or Hard).
The active suspension is the perfect ally for other systems that we already know at Ferrari,
such as the directional rear axle (it is surprising how the Purosangue coped with the forks of the dolomite roads), the all-wheel drive -although with preponderance to the rear axle-, the front torque vectoring and rear E-Diff or by-wire brakes (electronically actuated) with spectacular bite.
And we must not miss the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox that seems truly racing.
The shorter developments in the lowest gears help to catapult the Purosangue into acceleration, while the seventh and eighth should save fuel on the highway (and we say should because we didn't get to engage them...).
It is very difficult to judge comfort in a Ferrari.
Because, if you're a Ferrarista in your right mind, you just don't care.
But of course, the Purosangue is another type of car, another story... and that special character can be seen in many elements of the car.
For example, in the access to the interior, which is done through some 'welcome' doors, which facilitate the task.
The front doors open in the conventional way, through a handle hidden in the bodywork, while the rear doors do so with a discreet camouflaged tab at the base of the windows.
With a short press outward, the doors unlock and open a few centimeters to complete the rest of the operation manually (a good solution if, for example, we have a step nearby).
With a longer press, all opening is automatic.
And to close, exactly the same,
but in this case by moving the tab inwards.
All very intuitive.
From inside, the rear doors are always opened manually (so we are forced to monitor the environment before) and to close them we can go to an automatic mechanism, with a button located on the B-pillar.
A new generation interior
The peculiar suicide doors of the Purosangue give access, in a peculiar way in a Ferrari, to a new interior dimension.
Starting because, for the first time, there are four real seats inside a Maranello car.
And, furthermore, identical,
because the two rear passengers are accommodated in a sports seat identical to the front ones and with the same privileges: ventilation, heating, massage and multiple adjustments (including length and recline of the backrest).
The space for the feet and the legs is good, the same as the width... but the height is fair.
Our test unit mounted the carbon roof that comes standard, although there is an option for another panoramic glass with an automatic darkening system.
The dashboard is no less innovative. It is divided into two almost equal halves, something very unusual.
And the only control that appears in the center is a rotary switch that emerges when we touch it and from where we can regulate the air conditioning and seat settings (there is another one for the rear passengers).
It is intuitive to use and has a very good touch... but it is even more distracting than doing it through a screen.
Where is the screen?
The driver doesn't have a screen to touch... which is pretty rare these days.
Everything can be controlled from the steering wheel, which has new features, with a cross-shaped tactile control to navigate between the different menus on the right side and buttons (also tactile) on the left.
Its icons go dark after a few seconds have passed since the last click... something that doesn't convince us
because to activate them again you have to touch the center of the cross, generating an additional distraction.
Something similar happens when we use the browser, which is not included in the car.
Ferrari rightly believes that most drivers will choose to navigate through Google Maps or Apple maps, so it offers compatibility with both systems (although only wireless in the case of the iPhone).
The problem then is that, since it does not have a touch screen, you have to do all the navigation operations through your mobile phone
and, if you have to make any corrections on the go... We can see the indications of the route in a configuration specific to the digital clock panel in which, for example, we will not see the engine revolutions...
On the passenger side, there is a conventional touch screen
from which the passenger can operate the audio equipment, see the car's performance in real time or operate the navigation.
But, for example, videos cannot be displayed.
More equipped than ever
As it could not be otherwise in a much more versatile car (and, why not say it, also with one of the highest prices in the Ferrari catalog),
the standard equipment of the Purosangue is almost infinite: including seven years that are also offered on other models.
The 'battalion' of assistance systems is stunning:
adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, automatic high beams, involuntary lane departure alert with maintenance assistant, blind spot detector, rear cross traffic alert, road traffic recogniser, traffic signals, fatigue alert, rear parking camera...
Among the most striking options, an alcantara upholstery with recycled polyester or
a floor made of a ballistic fabric that is used to create military uniforms and that, due to its durability, fits the Purosangue like a glove.
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