Ferrari Purosangue | Test Drive | Auto Class Magazine

Ferrari Purosangue | Test Drive

24 April 2024 Redazione News, Tested

It’s no longer a surprise that the Purosangue is something exceptional, so all I have to do is understand how far Ferrari has gone with this unconventional model and how capable it really is of finding meaning there, outside the prancing horse’s gates.

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Bruno Serra

Via Abetone Inferiore, at number 4. Even though 10 years have passed from my very first press drive, every time my eyes frame that legendary entrance it is always a pretty strong emotion. Whether we want to admit it or not, Ferrari is that brand that more than any other represents the passion and perseverance of a man who has dedicated his existence to the realization of an automotive dream shared with millions of people around the world and also recognized by those who know absolutely nothing about engines, torque and power/weight ratio. To be clear, even your elderly great-grandmother knows what a Ferrari is. Arriving in front of the gates in Via Abetone is like a ritual, it’s not a simple working day. It’s a moment of introspection that triggers a whole series of synapses in my brain, making me feel more special as I get closer to the prancing horse.

Crossing the threshold is like having crossed a space-time boundary line. All you leave behind is a distant, muffled world and wherever you look you recognize those logos and writings that accompanied an increasingly distant childhood, but at the same time incredibly close thanks to a black horse on a yellow background. I am given the key to today’s test car and while I jealously put in my pocket that fantastic rectangular design object that has become the start command of the Italian supercar par excellence, I get closer to one of the models that have caused so much discussion, at least until the moment in which it literally wiped out all prejudices. In fact, it is no longer a surprise that the Purosangue is something exceptional – indeed, much more – so all that remains for me to do is understand how far Ferrari has gone with this unconventional model and how much it is really capable of finding a meaning there, outside the Ferrari gates.

When you arrive late at a party you have to do it with style, but the Purosangue is the guest of honor who doesn’t care about the imposed dress code and enters the room shouting like a madman, capturing everyone’s attention and making you forget what all the others have done so far. From this moment things change, but the reality is more different than we could imagine, because it is not an SUV, but a FUV, a Ferrari Utility Vehicle. A definition that could be difficult for anyone, it smells of marketing, but that after having driven it even just for a few hours best describes the essence and identity of a car which has no equals, no points of reference and which as far as we’re concerned it doesn’t even create a new niche, but represents it in a unique way.

No reference and no target to put at the center of the viewfinder, the Purosangue is a white sheet soaked in Ferrari red, if only it weren’t for the fact that the model given to me is a particular blue that profoundly changes intensity depending on the light. It is the first four-door, four-seater Ferrari in history and nothing has been left to chance. The key word is in fact one: performance. Everything is rigorously built around the search for maximum performance and a driving involvement that is impossible to achieve on any SUV, no matters how powerful and high-performance they are, ‘cause they always have the major flaw of making the driver perceive the mass they carry around. Generous dimensions such as a length of 4.9 meters which allows ample legroom for the two rear occupants, a width of 2 meters and a height reduced to just 1.5. This is the framework on which Maranello’s designers and engineers created an image that embodies sportiness even when parked on the roadside.

In fact, the Purosangue looks like an animal ready to leap forward and looking at its profile you perceive a sense of movement offered by a refined design which, although it maintains key details such as the light clusters seen on the SF90 Stradale (both front and back) underlines how the plethora of air intakes and slits are totally subservient to the principles of speed and aerodynamics. The gigantic 22” wheels at the front and 23” at the rear accentuate its readiness to leap forward and are surmounted by large wheel arches which are in turn sculpted with carbon fiber profiles, another key solution to guarantee grip and handling at high speeds .

Once I get on board I find myself in a completely new cockpit, not driver-centric, but which also offers the passenger the possibility of operating on the large passenger display and on the climate and seat controls, all incorporated into a wheel positioned in the center of the symmetrical dashboard. On the central tunnel we have the automatic gearbox selector, an 8-speed which I will tell you about shortly, with a design that recalls those with exposed cages of the 80s and 90s. Glorious. However, it is on the steering wheel that you have the greatest number of controls, with the manettino offering different driving modes, including Ice, Wet, Comfort, Sport and ESC Off, each of which can be combined with the three different suspension settings. I move to Sport and press – so to speak – the touch button at the base of the steering wheel. The V12 comes to life.

Yep, a V12. A colossal 6.5-liter naturally aspirated twelve-cylinder, a dream with open eyes and ears that does not excessively invade the passenger compartment, after all we are still talking about a car designed for a much wider use than the traditional Ferrari supercars. There are huge paddles for up and down gears and the direction indicators are positioned on the spokes, with a series of buttons next to them that allow you to act on the various settings with a simple touch. There is no satellite navigator, so you will have to – as is now done in the vast majority of cases – directly connect your smartphone via Apple Car Play or Android Auto, thus taking advantage of the large display behind the steering wheel, also as full size map.

However, what catches my attention is – needless to say – the tachometer with the typical yellow background. Looks like it is inviting me to make the needle shoot up, very high. I don’t have to be told twice and as I move away from Maranello heading for some corners that can put the Purosangue to the test, I immediately realize how low I am sitting. Some sports SUVs have accustomed us to a reduced seating position than usual, but in this case – not being an SUV at all – we are on par with a MINI. I am literally wrapped in a blue shell with a prancing horse in front where no one would expect it. And if I move forward in traffic noticing only a rather small turning radius, when the road opens up in front of me, revealing a serpentine of curves and hairpin bends, I finally begin to realize what the Ferrari Purosangue really is.

The all-wheel drive and Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 tires do their best in order to keep the car composed, letting the rear slide as much as the pressure of the right foot on the throttle requires. Then, as I approach the first hairpin bend, I discover something I never expected. Instinctively I sink on the brake and while the gigantic carbon-ceramics (with 398mm discs at the front and 380 at the rear) allow the 2,108 kg to slow down, I downshift two gears in rapid succession. Vroom, Vroom. It’s a fraction of a second, or much less. The 8-speed Transaxle which a few minutes earlier had stopped engaging gears with imperceptible ease and had become sharpened for a handful of overtaking moments that were all too easy for a car weighing over two tons, becomes a racing transmission, throwing one after the other the gears as soon as your fingers pinch the large paddles on the steering.

Above 3,000/3,500 rpm the 12-cylinder changes tone and invades the cockpit and the entire valley. The fullness of the sound is absurd and in this emotional vortex it is as if I had been woken up from a dream with a strong pinch, to find myself on a roller coaster and without protection. Actually, the feeling of control at the wheel of the Purosangue is total and the margin of grip offered by the tires (315 behind with just a 30 shoulder) confirms how much it seems like you are driving a chassis designed to go fast in all circumstances, making use of all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering. You insert the front and the rear follows like a dog hunting for its favorite bone, in fact it is precisely the connectivity between the steering wheel and the asphalt that surprises by eliminating any filter I would have considered acceptable with a size of this type. This is also thanks to the extraordinary active suspensions managed by four 48 volt electric motors, which eliminate body roll and pitch, providing the wheels with only what is necessary to unleash the end of the world. And when there is enough space, I put the gas down and let the 725 horsepower forcefully enter the scene, racing up to 7,750 rpm. Seven thousand seven hundred and fifty, numbers that are science fiction. In mixed conditions, the 716 Nm of torque, 80% available at just 2,100 rpm, do the rest, allowing you to take advantage of a torque curve and a rev scale that reward aggressive driving with the battle cry of the V12 positioned so back to be defined as mid-front engine.

There is not a millimeter left to chance, such as the stylistic quirk that winks at practicality. I’m talking about the rear doors that open against the wind – even automatically – so as to make it easier for rear passengers to get in and out. Scenographically satisfying, they smell of exclusivity, an innate quality that the brand accentuates since it is a model that intends to underline that this is the SUV – well FUV – to have. The seats, all four, are comfortable over long distances, but mainly aimed at sportiness, proving very supportive when things get serious. Then there are the options to make your Purosangue even more special and it takes just a moment to go from around €390,000 to well over €400,000. But does this really matter? I think it’s a superfluous discussion, just like those related to the efficiency of the V12, after all the Purosange is pure emotion, pure driving. It’s a Ferrari from start to finish.

However, its greatness is not only given by its performance, which for the record stops the clock at just 3.3 seconds on the 0-100 kph and scores a top speed of 310 per hour. No, the magic of the Purosangue is how it manages to offer a perfect Ferrari-style driving in the body of a car that can be used 365 days a year. It really is a Ferrari and has nothing to do with an SUV, mainly because when driving it you immediately realize that the feedbacks, the driving settings and the sensations that the driver’s body perceives in the middle of the bends are those of a grand tourer. A sort of connection point between the GTC4 and the Roma, with a pinch of 296 GTB and a sprinkling of SF90 Stradale. I’m not joking, it’s something never tried before and it makes no sense to be compared to the various Urus, DBX and Bentayga. When I drove the Stelvio Quadrifoglio I realized how much it was the most dynamic SUV ever, the Purosangue pushes the bar much further, providing practicality and high performance, but combining them with a driving feeling that every Ferrari owner will feel familiar. And for me this is not just an excellent product, this is magic.