De Anima Ferrari
Natural Aspiration 05: Is New Purosangue “FUV” a True Thoroughbred or the Ferrari that Crosses the Rubicon?
Among the many apothegms proffered by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo - the high-born Piedmontese with an aquiline nose and an enviable wardrobe - during his long tenure at the helm of Ferrari: “Different Ferraris for Different Ferraristi.”
Subsequent Ferrari leaders - and there have been quite a few since LdM, as his friends call him, was defenestrated in 2014 - have borrowed this mantra; it crops up frequently in the now-public company’s quarterly earnings calls.
Ferrari last week formally launched its Purosangue, which literally means “pure blood,” or “thoroughbred” with a bit of artistic license. One wonders whether the new Ferrari will prove a stallion in Breadvan clothing or a domesticated donkey.
The company adamantly claims it is not a Sport Utility Vehicle, but rather a Ferrari Utility Vehicle - straight from the horse’s mouth. It is perhaps best left unsaid what other phrases could be derived from the acronym “FUV.”
The Purosangue is, however, undeniably a high(er)-riding four-seat, four-door, four-wheel drive “family” car that that will pick up where the outgoing Ferrari FF and GTC4Lusso shooting brakes left off. Like those 2+2 forebears, the Purosangue features a high-revving, large capacity, naturally aspirated V-12. Unlike those aforementioned offerings, which were marmite options in an increasingly crowded market of premium and ultra-premium SUVs and sedans, the Purosangue is set to conquest mindset - and sales - from the competition.
Concurrent with the embargo breaking, Ferrari hosted a lavish launch party in Italy for established, VIP customers who were invited to purchase the Purosangue. Enrico Galliera, Ferrari’s Chief Commercial / Marketing Officer, who presented the Purosangue during the festa, detailed how the brand would approach allocation of the vehicle:
As soon as we announced the V-12 powertrain, interest exploded. So now we have a long list of requests coming from non-existing customers as well as current customers. But we’re not expecting early cars to be delivered to non-existing customers. When we learned there was a huge appetite for this car, we decided to give priority to our existing clients to reward them for their loyalty. They made Ferrari what it is today.
Ferrari claims that the Purosangue will comprise at most 20% of its annual production output, ostensibly to maintain exclusivity; I suspect, however, that the true constraint - at least in the near-term - relates to Ferrari’s ability to produce V-12 engines for the FUV, as well as other 12-cylinder products across the expected four to five year lifespan of the vehicle: The recently-debuted SP3 Daytona from the Icona line, and - one hopes - a replacement for the departing 812 family. Ferrari shipped 3,455 units during the second quarter of 2022, which yields an annualized figure of 13,820 cars. Ferrari has guided toward an annual production capacity of ~15,000 vehicles during previous earnings calls, which would cap the Purosangue output at 3,000 units per year. For now, the FUV is an exclusively V-12 affair, but it’s not difficult to envision a volume variant with a smaller, turbo hybrid engine; I am unsure, however, whether Ferrari would deploy the all-new 120 degree 3.0 liter turbo V-6 from the 296 GTB or the 90 degree 4.0 liter turbo V-8 from the SF90 Stradale. The V-6 is the new toy, but its vee angle is nearly twice as wide as the 65 degree V-12 found in the Purosangue. Longitudinal accommodation in the FUV engine bay would be no issue for either smaller engine, obviously, but I have seen no discussion of whether the V-6 will fit in any front-engined Ferraris (i.e., the Roma and Portofino M).
The product roadmap below, borrowed from Ferrari’s June “Capital Markets Day” presentation, is not helpful in that regard. Maranello does not make a habit of off-the-cuff discussion of future product planning, so our guidance is limited.
Pricing is set to commence from the $400,000 region, and it will be easy to add another hundred grand - or more - to that tally via the options list.
Inheritance & Vibe Shift:
During the reign of Montezemolo - which spanned from 1991 to 2014 - a Ferrari SUV offering was inconceivable. It was only toward the end of his regnum that pesky journalists began inquiring about the possibility of a Ferrari SUV. In late 2013 he said:
People ask me if my insistence on selling no more than 7,000 Ferraris will harm our brand, but I don’t believe so. They also ask me about a four-door car or SUV, and I point them in the direction of Maserati.
Since then, Ferrari’s output has more or less doubled, and Ferrari has just launched the SFUV which was anathema to Luca and antithetical to Ferrari’s brand values; moreover, the Maranello mavens will introduce a fully electric vehicle in 2025. Even at the end of Luca’s leadership, the prospect of a Ferrari EV would have been risible.
How - and why - did this sea change, this “vibe shift,” transpire?
Enzo Ferrari was, fundamentally, a racer. He was also, however, a preternatural marketer and brand builder. Readers who have slogged through the definitive Enzo Ferrari biography, written by Brock Yates and entitled “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine,” will have noticed that they are halfway home before Ferrari the manufacturer arrives on the scene in 1947. In Enzo’s mind, the road cars existed both to capitalize on his competition cars’ on-track performance and to ensure those successes continued. The purple ink, dark Persols, yellow ashtrays, and enigmatic public persona also aided these efforts in a virtuous cycle of brand burgeoning.
Enzo had two sons: One legitimate, one not. His ill-fated firstborn - Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari - died of Duchenne muscular dystrophy aged only 24. He lent his name to the not-a-Ferrari Dino model that debuted in the late 60s and also to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari track in Imola. Enzo’s second son was named Piero Lardi at birth, adopting his mother’s surname. Piero Ferrari, as he is now known, serves as Ferrari’s Vice Chairman and is a multi-billionaire through his inheritance.
Enzo’s spiritual heir, however, is Luca di Montezemolo. LdM joined FIAT - which had come to own half of Ferrari in the late 1960s (not long after Ferrari’s flirtation with Ford) - in the early ‘70s and soon found himself working under Enzo, who dispatched him to revitalize the marque’s Formula 1 team - Scuderia Ferrari. Ferrari and Austrian driver Niki Lauda took both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship titles in 1975 and 1977. But for Lauda’s infamous near-death experience at the Nürburgring in 1976, they almost certainly would have notched a hat-trick together (Ferrari managed to secure the constructors’ title in ‘76, nevertheless). After having conquered Formula 1 by returning the Scuderia to glory, Luca took on other posts in the vast FIAT empire, as well as a brief foray into the America’s Cup.
Enzo died in 1988. Three years later, Gianni Agnelli - the big boss at FIAT, which had come to own 90% of Ferrari (with the remainder belonging to Piero) - asked Luca to return to Maranello and to restore Ferrari once more. He spent the next 23 years doing so.
Just as Luca was Enzo’s true successor, Montezemolo and Agnelli were cut from the same cloth, literally; both men favored suits from Caraceni, the ne plus ultra of Italian industrialist power dress. This multigenerational triumvirate held simpatico ideals about what defined Ferrari: Motorsport success (particularly in Formula 1); high performance road cars rendered in beautiful, refined bodywork; exclusivity and mystique, setting Ferrari’s brand apart from all potential competitors.
Agnelli, who was nicknamed L'Avvocato - for he was a lawyer by training, as is Montezemolo, coincidentally - died in 2003. Echoing Enzo, Gianni was bereft of an obvious heir to inherit the day-to-day operation of his vast enterprise. His firstborn and sole son, Edoardo, died via suicide in 2000. His nephew, Giovannino, was the heir-apparent, but he succumbed to cancer in 1997. Agnelli had two young grandsons through his daughter Margherita’s marriage to Italian writer Alain Elkann: John and Lapo Elkann. Both were in their mid-twenties when their grandfather died.
One suspects that Lapo - a bona fide enfant terrible who enjoyed drugs and cavorting with (transsexual) prostitutes (and perhaps still does) - disqualified himself from controlling his extended family’s considerable financial interests through his indiscretions.
Which left only John Elkann, Lapo’s older brother. John joined FIAT’s board at the ripe age of 21, and one of his first major initiatives was recruiting Sergio Marchionne - who was then leading an Agnelli family portfolio company (the Agnelli holding company is now known as Exor) - to serve as FIAT CEO.
Whereas Elkann is an engineer by training, Marchionne - the sweater wearing, cigarette puffing, espresso swilling Italian Canadian - was a financial engineer. In the wake of the financial crisis, Marchionne served as chief architect of the FIAT alliance with Chrysler, which ultimately developed into a marriage of convenience - perhaps necessity - in 2014: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Before it became en vogue, orthodox, Marchionne identified the critical importance of economies of scale in the automotive business in the 21st century; his “Confessions of a Capital Junkie” presentation from 2015 is among the most seminal, impactful slide decks I have ever seen (and I have created thousands of my own).
As John and Sergio were preoccupied with their volume brands, Luca was meanwhile focused on running Ferrari. While the road car division had gone from strength to strength under his leadership - e.g., think of the transformation from the 348 through to the 458 Italia - the Scuderia had struggled, and the halcyon days of Michael Schumacher-led Grand Prix dominance, during which Ferrari took every title from 2000 to 2004, were far in the rear-view mirror. Moreover, Elkann and his envoy sought to unlock via IPO the extraordinary value of Ferrari, the world’s only automaker that public markets would value like a luxury brand - i.e., rather generously. This windfall would be used to shore up the rest of the FCA universe in a bid to emulate the brand diversification - and economies of scale - of the Volkswagen Group.
This was obviously diametrically opposed to Luca’s plan to run Ferrari as Enzo would have done. So, the die was cast, and the John and Sergio show set out to cross irrevocably the proverbial river of public company flotation; naturally, the ideal vehicle for such an endeavor would be a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Edition.
That was the “vibe shift.”
LdM is a canny personality who has operated at the apex of the global automotive industry and the Italian business landscape for decades; when he was shown the door by Elkann in 2014, he departed gracefully, at least in public. For the past eight years, I have wondered how things really transpired; I now have a much better idea, courtesy of a timely - and rather candid - interview with Peter Robinson, who has a lengthy journalistic resume and now writes for The Intercooler. In deference to The Intercooler’s paywall, I will excerpt a few choice comments from Luca; the content, however, absolutely merits your money.
On Ferrari and the Purosangue:
Ferrari is already another Ferrari, they talk of electric cars and SUVs – I don’t like the name [Purosangue] – I think they are terrible, but this is not my taste. They have become a mix between a financial company [and a supercar manufacturer], so the shareholder value is the priority number one, and are very busy with work on the electric car.
I think Ferrari makes an SUV mainly for commercial reasons. That is good, they are a public company. I don’t like to talk about something I don’t know, but from what I’ve seen the Ferrari is closer to the Lamborghini; expensive, very powerful, with far more [profit] margin. Of course, they will call it something different, not an SUV. Anyway, it’s marketing. To increase turnover, sell more cars, and already they are at 11,000 [a year].
Regarding the IPO:
I was totally against the idea of the flotation for the simple reason that a flotation means you lose control. The (Agnelli) family wanted to take money from Ferrari – Ferrari’s value was higher than the entire Fiat Chrysler group – and [going public means] you become a different company that is obliged to grow. I wanted to maintain an exclusivity and very, very high positioning to maintain a unique brand.
In my recent assessment of the current state of McLaren, I hypothesized that Michael Leiters - the recently deposed Ferrari Chief Technical Officer who is now leading McLaren - might have been offered the top job at Aston Martin, which ultimately went to Amedeo Felisa, another ex-Ferrari man. Luca sheds a little more insight into Lawrence Stroll’s “vision:”
I am a long-time friend of Lawrence Stroll. He is maybe one of two people in the world who own two GTOs, he used to race in the Ferrari Challenge and became a Ferrari dealer in 1993. He is very rich and has a big, big passion for Ferrari and a huge collection of cars, so we became friends.
By “two GTOs,” Luca means two examples of the Ferrari 250 GTO; the brace would likely be valued as high as $150 million today.
Just before Aston Martin’s float [in 2018], I was approached by a large bank and asked if I would be interested to be Chairman and CEO of Aston Martin. I say no. Maybe if I say yes, it would be good for the value, but I said no.
I told Lawrence, why don’t you talk to this bank about Aston Martin. Lawrence decided he wanted to buy Aston Martin and take them back to F1.
According to Robinson:
When Stroll’s consortium took control of Aston Martin in early 2020, he hoped to appoint Amedeo Felisa, who had retired as CEO of Ferrari at the end of 2015, as Chairman. It was too early for Felisa, who was Chairman of the Montezemolo-controlled Atop, a manufacturer of electrical automotive components.
Two years later, unhappy with Tobias Moers’ management of Aston, Stroll again approached Felisa, who told LdM: ‘He is pushing me, he’s not happy with the CEO and wants me to accept to be CEO.’
Fascinating! Felisa is now 76 years old and was apparently Stroll’s first choice to lead Aston Martin!
The cigarettes and espresso lifestyle caught up with Marchionne in 2018; he died, likely from cancer, after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Before his untimely demise, Marchionne - in 2016 - denied that Ferrari would build an SUV: “You have to shoot me first.”
A year earlier, Flavio Manzoni - head of Ferrari Centro Stile, the man who designed the Purosangue - claimed that “Enzo Ferrari would turn in his grave,” if Ferrari built an SUV.
Sergio’s successor was Egyptian-born cosmopolitan Louis Camilleri, who arrived from Philip Morris, a long-time Scuderia sponsor (although no longer, as of 2022).
On the subject of a Ferrari SUV: “I abhor hearing the word SUV in the same sentence as Ferrari. It does not sit well with our brand.”
Camilleri was warmer, however, to the idea of a fully electric Ferrari; in a 2019 interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said:
Ferrari … has set a target to have three of every five new Ferraris be hybrids by 2022. The first fully electric Ferrari should arrive between 2025 and 2030.
Further, in a 2020 discussion with Adam Jonas, a Morgan Stanley equity research analyst:
To retain the Ferrari DNA, the EV will actually be significantly more complex than you are assuming. And that's clearly something that we're working on. But just to have a standard EV and put the Cavallino on, it is not what we're all about.
Camilleri abruptly resigned from both Ferrari and his position as Chairman of Philip Morris International at the end of 2020 for “personal reasons.” John Elkann stepped in to serve as interim Ferrari CEO.
After a far-reaching search for a replacement chief, Ferrari announced Benedetto Vigna as its new CEO in June of 2021. Vigna came not from the world of automobiles, but from technology and computing. He is responsible for the motion sensors that facilitate Nintendo’s Wii gaming device and holds claim to 100+ patents. Upon his announcement, Ferrari trumpeted that Vigna would “accelerate Ferrari’s ability to pioneer the application of next generation technologies."
Just over a year into his new role, Vigna recently sat for an interview with Top Gear.
On internal combustion engines (emphasis mine):
When we disclosed that the Purosangue would have a naturally aspirated V-12, the traction from customers was very strong. I don’t know what your impression is, but the ostracism of internal combustion engines is… changing a little bit. Did you read what Elon Musk said in a speech a few weeks ago? It’s true that some people will not like the V-12, because it’s an ICE, and people tell you it should be a hybrid or electric. But the perception so far is very good.
This echoes similar remarks that Michael Leiters made in his recent sit-down with Autocar.
Concerning the forthcoming, electric-only Ferrari:
We’re doing in-depth work and using all our experience so that we can deliver a continuous, consistent and authentic Ferrari driving experience; 2025’s electric Ferrari will be unique, a true Ferrari.
Ferrari versus his technology work experience:
Ferrari is not an automotive company, because the speed is much faster. The world I have come from is much more dynamic, and Ferrari is closer to that world. I felt at home from day one, being a fan of Ferrari, and I also understand the culture because my wife is from this region.
Is Ferrari’s heritage valuable? (emphasis mine):
If we are here, it’s because the past has worked well. We fully recognise the efforts of the people who came before us. We’re managing the tension between the tradition and the innovation. There are advantages and disadvantages to being a start-up. You don’t have to worry about the brand, you don’t have to take care of the heritage. But without that heritage they cannot sell the dream, they are missing something unique. Bringing the two together is like meshing two gears. The Purosangue is a good example. There is tradition here – it’s powered by a V-12 engine, it’s naturally aspirated – but there is innovation, too.
This reminds me of the book “Selling Dreams: How to Make Any Product Irresistible,” written by Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni, former President and CEO of Ferrari North America.
Competitive Set & Market Positioning:
All businesses seek to differentiate favorably their products from wares on offer from the competition; luxury brands doubly so, because they have a brand both to leverage and - hopefully - to burnish. While there were luxury SUVs available prior to the arrival of BMW’s first-generation X5 just before the millennium, the Bavarians were the first premium automakers to move into the sport utility space; memorably, they characterized their debutant as a Sport Activity Vehicle.
Envious of the profits BMW was extracting from its X5, Porsche launched the Cayenne a few years later. Scarcely half a decade after the air-cooled engine rode off into the sunset, the Sultans of Stuttgart had rebounded from the ropes of financial peril through the cost-engineered 996 generation Carrera and entry-level 986 Boxster siblings. The Cayenne afforded the profit spree that nearly allowed the diminutive Davids to swallow up the Volkswagen Goliath.
The flood gates were wide open by the mid-oughts; luxury SUV offerings were tantalizing to premium OEMs for several reasons:
Significant demand from existing customers and new entrants to the brand
Appeal in developing markets with less robust road infrastructure (i.e., the BRICs)
High margin (i.e., badge engineering in many cases)
A non-exhaustive, alphabetized list of top-drawer SUVs currently - or soon - on sale from premium carmakers:
Aston Martin DBX - Must-succeed offering; anecdotally, I have seen only a handful on the road in Atlanta
Bentley Bentayga - Brand flagship; top volume model
Lamborghini Urus - Top volume model; I see one or more every day
Land Rover Range Rover - All-new fifth generation just launched; utterly ubiquitous in my neighborhood
Lotus Eletre - Forthcoming EV product
Maserati Levante - Also-ran variant (recall Luca’s damning remark above)
Mercedes Benz G-Class - A friend working for locally headquartered MB USA told me that Atlanta is the top domestic market for the G-Class; I believe it
Porsche Cayenne - Ubiquitous; sporting Turbo GT model recently launched
Rolls Royce Cullinan - Top volume model; I see multiple examples a week despite breathtaking price
Doubtless I have overlooked some of the peer set; this only reinforces how large it is, however. With few exceptions, the SUVs above have transformed their respective marques’ production figures and profitability.
The Purosangue is positioned differently. It will be both far more expensive and far more exclusive than any of the SUVs listed above, including the Cullinan. Unlike Aston Martin, Bentley, and Lamborghini Ferrari does not need to build a (successful) SUV; rather, it has chosen to.
So why has it chosen to do so, and why now?
Ferrari has traded publicly since 2015, and since then various leaders of the company were publicly adamant that no SUV was in the product plan; the business is quite healthy without the Purosangue - as of mid-September, Ferrari is valued at ~$37 billion, even in a choppy market.
There are several reasons:
Ferrari has offered a 2+2 model since the days of Enzo; the radical, distinctive FF model arrived in 2011, and the facelift GTC4Lusso followed five years later. This platform was overdue for replacement.
Replacing the slow-selling two-door four-seaters with an evolutionary car that could be sold with a wink as a utility vehicle made great business sense; I also suspect that the facelift of the Purosangue will form the basis for the EV Ferrari slated to arrive in 2025.
Substitution: A high percentage of Ferrari owners also own SUVs, and Ferrari would prefer those customers to buy their utility vehicles from Ferrari instead of the competition; the more time the clientele spends driving Ferraris at the expense of other brands, the more bought-in to the brand those customers will be.
From a financial perspective, Elkann and Vigna are incentivized to pursue additional near-term revenue generation at the (potential) expense of long-term brand value erosion. Expanding / monetizing a brand without cheapening or devaluing its image is akin to alchemy, and almost as hard. This was Luca’s argument against what became the Purosangue.
While John Elkann does not strike me as a man after the heart of Enzo, Luca, or his nonno Gianni, he does want to preserve Ferrari’s unparalleled brand heritage, which is the basis for the high earnings multiple accorded to Ferrari’s stock. A quick perusal of Ferrari’s Board of Directors helps to illustrate my argument:
John Elkann - Chairman
Benedetto Vigna - CEO
Piero Ferrari - Vice Chairman
Delphine Arnault - Scion of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate
Francesca Bellettini - CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, part of the world’s second largest luxury goods conglomerate - Kering
Eddy Cue - Executive at Apple, arguably the biggest brand extant
Sergio Duca - Italian businessman
John Galantic - CEO of Chanel
Maria Patrizia Grieco - Chairperson of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank
Adam Keswick - Executive at Jardine Matheson Group
Exterior:
The form factor of the FUV was always going to be controversial and therefore difficult to assess in isolation from the worthiness of the vehicle’s existence. Rather than litigate the latter, I shall do my best to evaluate the Purosangue as a premium, four-door car on slight stilts.
While there are broadly similar elements between the Purosangue and - e.g. - Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, the Ferrari has exotic proportions and much more taut, dynamic surfacing; no one will ever confuse the two without tongue lodged in cheek.
From the front, I question the presence of the polished Cavallino Rampante against the gaping black void of the V-12’s air intake; it looks delicate, like something that will break easily. The re-deployment of the headlight buckets into vents bisected by modest, seemingly two-dimensional light strips also seems strange and unnecessarily fussy. It works far better on McLaren’s 720S, but that’s a car with truly exotic exterior aesthetics and an entirely different use case.
From the rear, the Purosangue has muscular arches and PHAT rear rubber, which work to telegraph the FUV’s straight line credentials.
This view is similar to Ferrari’s profoundly beautiful Roma 2+2 coupe, but the taillights appear to have been borrowed from the 296 GTB. I am confident the Purosangue is wider than the Roma, but it certainly doesn’t look that way.
The outgoing GTC4Lusso’s rear bodywork was far more elegant, to my eyes, and that car - along with other recently retired Ferraris of its vintage - featured the most beautiful taillights affixed to a car made in the 21st century: Four simple round lamps with delicious three-dimensional detailing. I cannot understand why Manzoni dropped them.
The side profile is well-executed. The car appears dynamic, lithe. I do, however, take issue with the sill running along the wheelbase. The shape seems lumpy, as if it peaks near the B-pillar, which makes the car look humpbacked in the middle; that is precisely the criticism that a vehicle like this must avoid!
Compare it to the triangular sill on the GTC4Lusso, which makes the two-door antecedent look long, low, and fast (even when stationary).
The Purosangue has vents on the hood that mimic the “aero bridges” seen on the flanks of the F12berlinetta. They also help to break up the front end of the car, which makes it look less phallic than the Lusso above.
The FUV is a sizable vehicle, and Car and Driver anticipates a 5,000-pound curb weight. The vehicle cannot accommodate a tow hook, so your influencer dreams of ferrying a Riva Aquarama, the mid-century aquatic analog to a V-12, front-engined Italian Gran Turismo, ‘twixt Monaco and Lake Como behind your Purosangue must go unfulfilled.
Interior:
Without yet having sat in the Purosangue’s interior, I can assure you it will smell as fragrant as a fresh Gucci loafer; I can also assure you that the soft, buttery leather found on the Florentine footwear doesn’t hold up well in utility-related use cases. It remains to be seen whether the FUV’s interior furnishings can withstand family car use, especially in the classic Cuoio color that will show stains. Those who enter into either the front row or the back row (via suicide doors) will be greeted by acres of plush leather - or Alcantara, or whatever material they wish provided they write Ferrari’s Tailor Made department a blank check - once inside.
Based on the press kit photos, it looks like a lovely space to spend a long-haul drive from London to Gstaad, provided you can overlook the dashboard (more on which momentarily).
The Purosangue will be able to accommodate a case of wine and a Fortnum & Mason hamper in the boot…
… but it will fall short in the plywood hauling department.
I have a few significant gripes with the interior, and they all concern the dashboard.
First: The twin hump design makes me think of a C2 Corvette, and the Purosangue customer set is unlikely to enjoy listening to The Beach Boys in the local Dairy Queen parking lot.
Second: The air vents and the central rotary dial conspire to remind me of the design language of Nokia’s N-Gage proto-smartphone. Provided you are acquainted with the story of the design inspiration for the Finnish communication device, you will find this doubly amusing; if that’s not the case, Google it (at home; this is a family publication)!
Third: Like other recent Ferraris (e.g., Roma, SF90 Stradale, 296 GTB), the Purosangue has a completely digital dash and relies on haptic controls on the steering wheel for adjusting settings.
I have yet to hear any commentator or consumer yearn for cheap-looking, quickly-dating digital dashboards in their new car, but every OEM is competing in a headlong race not to be the last lemming left standing on the cliff in this regard. We all spend enough time looking at screens every day, so who needs another one? Would you rather tell the time on a bland Apple Watch or the beautiful, mechanical dial of a chronometer?
Speaking of Apple - none other than Jony Ive, the legendary Apple design genius who was recently hired by Ferrari, is on record as a hater of haptic controls! Interestingly, the Purosangue will not offer an in-house navigation system and will instead rely on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as Galliera says “the level of security is not enough for us to satisfy our clients.”
Engine, Transmission & Suspension:
Whereas there is robust debate surrounding the aesthetic merits of the Purosangue, I suspect few will take issue with its V-12 engine, which - along with the august badge - forms part of the FUV’s unique selling proposition. The V-12 is a narrow angle (65 degree) 6.5 liter unit breathing by means of natural aspiration; it develops 715 hp - or 110 hp / liter - and 528 lb-ft of torque and redlines at 8,250 RPM. Although it is a member of the F140 engine family found in all V-12 Ferraris since the 2003 Enzo, it is less extreme than the variants fitted to the 812 Competizione and SP3 Daytona - it gives up over 100 hp to both. Sensibly, Ferrari has modified the valvetrain, induction, exhaust, and redline to make the Purosangue’s V-12 a better fit for a family car - 80% of the peak torque figure is available from just over 2,000 RPM.
Following Ferrari Gran Turismo convention, the transaxle FUV receives an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission; front / rear weight distribution is 49 / 51 percent. Like its 2+2 predecessors, the Purosangue has an all-wheel-drive system that will hand over to rear-wheel-drive above 125 MPH. As with the 812 Competizione, the Purosangue features four-wheel steering that can control each wheel independently in either direction.
Maranello’s marketing team claims the Purosangue will surpass 62 MPH from rest in 3.3 seconds and achieve a terminal velocity of 193 MPH. While the acceleration figure seems a bit … weak in a world of Teslas and Rivians and Lucids, to say nothing of other internal combustion engine SUVs with big power figures like Aston Martin’s DBX 707, the Ferrari alone will accompany forward progress with the sonic signature of a V-12. No less an authority on musicality than Herbert von Karajan once said: “There’s no orchestra conductor in the world who would be able to replicate the melody of Ferrari 12-cylinder [engines].”
Ferrari turned to Canadian specialists Multimatic to source the Purosangue’s innovative dampers; the TrueActive Spool Valve (TASV) dampers are claimed to be “active” in an anticipatory sense, unlike conventional passive dampers or multi-mode, um, active dampers. Deductively, that would make them “proactive” dampers. Where have I heard a supercar manufacturer crowing about proactive chassis control before?
Final Thoughts:
Many companies - especially those whose shares trade publicly - find themselves paying lip service to stakeholder capitalism these days. Stakeholder capitalism has a broader constituent base than shareholder capitalism; it gives a voice to customers, employees, vendors, and anyone else with an opinion along with the owners of the company.
How might each constituency react to the Purosangue?
Shareholders - Delighted! Up to 3,000 incremental production units a year with average selling prices that will likely exceed $500,000.
Customers - Mixed. Most of the Purosangue buyers will be pleased, obviously, but same may feel coerced to buy the FUV to remain in Ferrari’s favor.
Employees and Vendors - Pleased; more opportunity to work for or with Ferrari.
Peanut Gallery - Mixed. Some love it, same are suicidal, others are in the middle. This category also includes Ferrari owners who were not invited to purchase a Purosangue.
Ultimately, the Purosangue exists today because of a series of decisions John Elkann made: To remove Luca in favor of Marchionne, to trade independence for public market funding.
Provided Ferrari were still privately held, I believe LdM would still be guiding the company - if not in a literal sense, perhaps a figurative one.