Yes, it’s a new era for Ferrari as the Italian supercar firm has finally revealed its first-ever high-riding supercar. Meet the Ferrari Purosangue!

Just about 4years after Ferrari announced plans to build a high-riding “utility vehicle” (the Italian company isn’t a fan of the term “SUV”), the Maranello-based supercar firm has now unleashed the Purosangue. In fact, Ferrari insists that this is not an SUV and Ferarri CEO, Benedetto Vigna commented on the matter, saying, “We’re not calling it an SUV. We’re not even talking about SUVs.”

Call it what you want, the five-door Ferrari,which the automaker promises is a “genuine game changer”– features narrow lighting elements that flow into a slim upper grille positioned beneath the clamshell-style bonnet. The lower part of the front bumper is dominated by gaping air intakes, which is necessary to provide cooling for the glorious full-fat V12 engine that stays true to Ferrari’s rich history. At the rear, the purposeful quad exhaust system sings the V12 song for all to hear. The Purosangue rides on 22-inch front and 23-inch rear wheels.

In fact, the naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine develops a heady 533 kW and 716 Nm of torque and is paired to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission which lays down power to all four wheels. Ferrari says that the Purosangue is good for 3.3 seconds in the sprint from zero to 100 kph and top out at about 310 kph. Ride and handling is aided by a Multimatic active suspension system with True Active Spool Valve (TASV) technology that incorporates 48-voltactuators that manage damper stroke, pitch and roll.

As you’d expect, the interior is focused mostly on the driver, but even so, there are 2individual rear seats (as opposed to a rear bench), accessed by rear suicidedoors that open at 79-degrees and with an approximate load bay capacity of 470 litres.

The Purosangue – an Italian word meaning “thoroughbred” – is expected to go up against the likes of the Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX, and in a way will function as a replacement for the since-departed GTC4 Lusso.

While Ferrari has previously made noises about the importance of keeping thePurosangue “exclusive”, there’s no doubt the arrival of an SUV will boost Maranello’s global sales figures, just as the Urus has done for Lamborghini and the DBX for Aston Martin.

We can’t wait to drive it!

On that note, first deliveries are expected in 2023 but availability in South Africa has yet to be confirmed. We’ll keep you updated!

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