At Least the Ferrari Purosangue SUV Will Have a V12

Maranello's first SUV will have an engine appropriate for such a flagship model.
Ferrari

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Ferrari insists that its first SUV, the Purosangue, will be a legitimate, full-blooded Ferrari. There’s no better way to guarantee that than by equipping it with Ferrari’s bread-and-butter engine, a naturally aspirated V12. The storied automaker confirmed today that will be the case, helping it stand out from its V8-powered rivals like the Lamborghini Urus.

The company’s Twitter account corroborated the detail the same day that its new CEO Benedetto Vigna, of Apple and Nintendo provenance, spoke to Reuters about the vehicle. He wouldn’t share details on pricing or production plans, and didn’t speak about other possible engine options, but emphasized that the V12 was the only option for a vehicle representing what the Purosangue does.

“We’ve tested several options, it was clear that the V12, for the performance and driving experience it could provide, was the right option for the market,” Vigna told the outlet. “The Purosangue is [the] son of our tradition.”

V12s have historically been the domain of Ferrari’s flagships, from its front-engined grand tourers to its once-a-decade mid-engined V12ers dating back to the F50. With each passing tease of the Purosangue, it appears more likely that the SUV will pick up where the GTC4Lusso left off in 2020, with a low-slung body that’ll make it more an on-roader like the Lamborghini Urus than a competitor to a lifted Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

Ferrari has never been known for playing in the dirt, and it doesn’t seem like it’s about to start. If you want to go that route, you’ll likely have to take matters into your own hands.

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