After years of anticipation by the international automotive fraternity, Ferrari today unveiled the Purosangue, the first ever four-door, four-seater car in the Prancing Horse’s 75-year history, in the magnificently atmospheric surroundings of the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico (Pisa).
Since the marque’s earliest years, 2+2 cars (i.e. with two front and two smaller back seats) have played a significant role in its strategy.
Many Ferraris have made combining benchmark performance with first class comfort one of the pillars of their success. Now, in the culmination of 75 years of leading-edge research,
Ferrari has created a car that is unique on the world stage: not only do performance, driving pleasure and comfort coexist in perfect harmony, but it is also a peerless encapsulation of the Prancing Horse’s iconic DNA.
This is the reason why the name Purosangue, Italian for ‘thoroughbred’, was chosen.
To enable the company to achieve the ambitious goals set for this project and create a car worthy of a place in its range, a completely different layout and innovative proportions compared to modern GT archetypes (so-called crossovers and SUVs) were adopted.
The average modern GT’s engine is mounted forwards in the car, almost straddling the front axle with the gearbox coupled directly to it; this results in less than optimal weight distribution that delivers driving dynamics and driving pleasure well short of the standards of excellence to which Prancing Horse clients and enthusiasts have become accustomed.
The Purosangue, on the other hand, has a mid-front-mounted engine with the gearbox at the rear to create a sporty transaxle layout. The Power Transfer Unit (PTU) is coupled in front of the engine to provide a unique 4×4 transmission.
This delivers exactly the 49:51% weight distribution that Maranello’s engineers deem optimal for a mid-front-engined sports car.
The Purosangue stands head and shoulders above the rest of the market thanks to its performance and comfort. It is the only car with these proportions to sport a mid-front-mounted, naturally-aspirated V12.
Maranello’s most iconic engine debuts in this brand new configuration to ensure the car unleashes more power than any other in the segment (725 cv) whilst guaranteeing the most enthralling Ferrari engine soundtrack. Furthermore, it can deliver 80% torque even at low revs for unique driving pleasure at all times.
The Purosangue offers class-leading performance figures (from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.3 s and from 0 to 200 in 10.6 s); the driving position and the heady, naturally-aspirated V12 soundtrack deliver an entirely new yet also entirely Ferrari driving experience.
The fact that a vast array of comfort-focused content is provided as standard, such as the Burmester© audio system, and that the many optional extras including the brand-new Alcantara® upholstery, derived from certified recycled polyester, make the Purosangue the most complete four-door, four-seater in the segment.
POWERTRAIN
The Purosangue’s engine (code-named F140IA) maintains the architecture that made the Prancing Horse’s most recent 12-cylinders so successful i.e. a 65° angle between its cylinder banks, a 6.5-litre capacity, dry sump and high-pressure direct injection.
It was designed, however, to produce the highest amount of torque at low revs possible without losing the feeling of linear, never-ending power typical of Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated V12s. 80% of the maximum torque is on tap at just 2100 rpm and it peaks at 716 Nm at 6250 rpm.
Maximum power of 725 cv is reached at 7750 rpm and throttle response is characteristic of a real sports car.
