It's been a busy year for Ferrari, as the Italian automaker has unveiled a slew of new models including the F8 Tributo, SF90 Stradale, and more recently the 812 GTS and F8 Spider. Looking ahead, Ferrari will also launch its first-ever SUV to rival the Lamborghini Urus and the upcoming Aston Martin DBX. Due to arrive in 2022, Ferrari's SUV is codenamed the Purosangue (that's Italian for 'thoroughbred') and known internally as '175.' And according to a new report by Autocar, it will be in a different league to its rival performance SUVs.
"I'm convinced on this car and the technical concept," Ferrari's chief technical officer Michael Leiters told Autocar. "I think we've found a concept and a package which is on one side a real SUV and will convince SUV customers to buy it, but on the other side there's a huge differentiation of concept to existing SUVs."
Underpinning the Purosangue will be Ferrari's next-generation scalable front-mid-engined architecture that supports V6, V8, and V12 engines with or without hybrid assistance and with a transaxle dual-clutch automatic gearbox, rear or all-wheel drive, and two, two-plus-two or four-seat cabins.
According to Autocar, the Purosangue will take the form of a four-seater measuring around 16 feet long and will reportedly feature height-adjustable suspension and an anti-roll system, resulting in impressive on-road dynamics and some off-road capability. As for powertrains, while previous reports claimed the Purosangue will pack a V8, Autocar claims the SUV will adopt the SF90 Stradale's hybrid setup featuring three electric motors paired with a turbocharged V6. A range-topping V12 version is also expected as Ferrari is staying committed to V12 engines.
SUVs are a new segment for Ferrari, which has presented the automaker with engineering challenges to overcome when developing the interior. "With space, how can we ensure that there is the right easy, ergonomic comfort on board?" said Leiters. "How to combine the sporty layout with a more comfort-orientated design? What to do with HMI [human machine interface]? Our HMI is driver-orientated, but how can it be more democratic? What are the comfort features? What is a Ferrari's pure DNA on a car for comfort? It's a challenge, an opportunity and fun. I like it very much. Some concepts are close together, but with cars like 175 one thing we want to do is structure the product range and have something different."