2023 Ferrari Purosangue: Maranello turns to the SUV dark side

All-new Ferrari Purosangue is the Prancing Horse's first-ever four-seater, four-door vehicle

Over 20 years ago, Porsche decided to launch an SUV called the Cayenne. Despite purists initially disliking that development, it proved to be the brand's saving grace and cash cow.

Then just a few years ago, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin also revealed their own SUVs called the Urus, Cullinan, and the DBX. The Urus now serves as Lamborghini's most popular model while the Cullinan is the most opulent Rolls to roll out of Goodwood. Meanwhile, the DBX can go toe-to-toe with its sports car cousins; the DB11 and the V12 Vantage.

And now, here comes Ferrari. After countless rumors, leaks, and teasers, Ferrari has finally revealed its first-ever production SUV. Say Buon Giorno to the Ferrari Purosangue, the brand's first four-door, four-seater vehicle in the Prancing Horse's 75-year history.

While Ferrari themselves outright refuse to call it an SUV, we cannot help but call it that way. With its tall ride height, sleek dimensions, and overall profile, the Purosangue (which means pure-blood or thoroughbred in Italian) is an SUV through and through. In terms of size alone, the Purosangue measures 4973mm long, 2028mm wide, and 1589mm tall along with a 3018mm wheelbase.

Open the doors (including the rear suicide doors) and the Purosangue invites occupants to a leather and Alcantra-lined interior. As we mentioned earlier, this is not a 2+3 Ferrari. Instead, it's a four-seater that comes with rear bucket seats that allow for maximum comfort. In keeping with the brand's sporting pedigree, it has a flat-bottom steering wheel, large paddle shifters, touchscreen infotainment, and a Burmester surround sound system.

At the heart of this pure-blooded Ferrari is, you guessed it, a stonking V12 motor codenamed F140IA. Don't expect to see any electric motors or turbochargers on this 6.5-liter 12-cylinder as Maranello decided to keep this au naturale. Despite not benefiting from forced induction or electric assist, V12 cranks out an impressive 725 PS at 7750 rpm along with a meaty 716 Nm at 6250 rpm.

Ferrari says that this particular V12 is now the most powerful engine ever developed for a four-seater and is also the most powerful in its segment. The intake, timing, and exhaust systems have all been redesigned while the cylinder heads are derived from the 812 Competizione. To optimize the torque curve and a continual increase across the rev range, the geometry of the intake ducts and plenums were revised and is helped by an all-new valvetrain that also aids in low-end power delivery.

Power is then sent to all four wheels (yes it's an AWD) via an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. Unlike typical wet DCTs, however, Ferrari made use of a dry sump for its 8-speed which allowed them to make it more compact. They also claim that the dry sump setup lowered the Purosangue's center of gravity. When it comes to sheer acceleration, Ferrari says the Purosangue can sprint from 0 – 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and hit a top speed of over 310 km/h.

Despite being an SUV, Ferrari was able to achieve a 49:51 weight distribution between the front and rear. In addition, Ferrari put an active suspension system courtesy of Multimatic. It benefits from the brand's True Active Spool Valve (TASV) technology which uses 48V actuators to control the damper settings.

It might have taken nearly three-quarters of a century for Ferrari to actually build an SUV, but lo and behold the Prancing Horse has done it. And with 24 colors, 27 interiors, and 6 wheel options, customers are spoiled for choice when it comes to dressing up their own Purosangue.