Ferrari has been late to the game when it comes to the ever-growing popularity of high-performance luxury SUVs. As a matter of fact, its two former CEOs were against it. Sergio Marchionne even said he'd have himself shot first before he signs off on an SUV model. Well, times have changed, and so has the leadership within the Italian automaker, which means that ideas are fresh and a new dawn for Ferrari occurred when the Purosangue SUV was unveiled. To the eyes of a Ferrari purist, the Purosangue is their worst nightmare. For the rest of the world, it's probably the best vehicle Ferrari has ever made--so much so that the Italian automaker had to stop accepting orders.
Be Prepared To Wait Two Years For Your Purosangue
That's because, to no one's surprise, the world has spoken and SUVs are still all the rage. Enough so that Ferrari amassed a two-year wait list for the super SUV, despite the fact that it costs a lot more than the Lamborghini Urus. Speaking to Drive, Enrico Galliera, chief marketing and commercial officer of Ferrari NV, says that Purosangue has been an incredibly popular model even before production has commenced. As a matter of fact, no one from the media has even been able to release a proper review of it. Galliera said. "It's no secret that we stopped taking orders," he said. "We had such an interetest without delivering one single car."
Ferrari has set a production cap for the Purosangue, in which the super SUV will only make up 20 percent of the brand's overall production output. This is in contrast to Lamborghini, wherein the Urus is by far their best-selling vehicle, accounting for more than half of the brand's sales. This was a deliberate decision, as Galliera said it was "consistent with the positioning of Ferrari and the model."
Why Is The Purosangue So Popular?
Apart from the obvious fact that the Purosangue's popularity is due to its SUV body style, it's also the only model in its segment to have a high-revving naturally-aspirated V-12 engine. It produces 715 horses and 528 pound-feet of torque sent through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic that drives all four wheels. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan's V-12 has turbos, which means it doesn't emit the same theatrical sound as the Purosangue.
Ferrari also isn't owned by any mainstream automaker, which means that its platform isn't shared with a more affordable vehicle. In fact, it uses the same platform as the Ferrari Roma. This is unlike the Urus, whose platform is also utilized by the Volkswagen Touareg, thus its lower price tag.