L et’s get one thing straight: Every new Ferrari, regardless of how well it performs in relation to the competition or how rare it may be, is an auto- matic best-seller. If you’re not already in good with the fine people at Maranello, you’re not going to get your name in their order book. You’ve got a greater chance of a) dating Taylor Swift and then b) forging a long-term relationship with Taylor Swift. So the 2024 Ferrari Purosangue, the first-ever four-door/four-seater in Ferrari history, has landed… but it’s already sold out. You may be able to score a pre-loved example at some point down the road. Maybe. In the meantime, you can dare to dream about owning this mechanically masterful vehicle, which is more of a high-riding GT than SUV. Side note: Ferrari doesn’t want anyone calling the Purosangue an SUV and, in fact, the repre- sentatives take great pains in not using the term during the technical brief. It’s a fair point. While competitors played it safe and went for the classic tall and boxy shape (like the Bentayga), or the tall and couple-like shape (like the Urus), the design centre created something altogether different. The Purosangue looks like a high-riding concept car brought to life. As this article was being written,
the Ferrari was declared the winner of the presti- gious Car Design Award, which was announced as part of Milan Design Week. The jurors’ conclud- ing statement: “Unmistakably a Ferrari, it stands out from all of the other high-end cars of similar dimensions.” It’s true. In person, the exterior shell of the Purosangue appears to be floating on top of the lower part of the car, which is coloured in black gloss from the wheel arches on down. This design makes the Ferrari appear sleeker, narrower and more compact. The plethora of air ducts, engin- eered for cooling and for downforce, further emphasize the slick contours. Meanwhile, under its sleek design, the Purosangue is powered by a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V-12 engine (715 hp; 528 lb-ft), another surprising decision given the times we live in. Ferrari itself has some incredible hybrids in the fleet—like the 296 and the SF90—so bringing electrification to the Purosangue seemed an obvious decision. But there’s nothing all that obvious about this Ferrari. The V-12 is mounted towards the middle of the car and an eight-speed dual-clutch trans- axle is mounted at the back, helping to ensure a near-optimal 49:51 weight distribution. The engine is calibrated to deliver 80 percent of maximum
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