Ferrari made us wait for its SUV. It was worth it

Video by Amira Kane

For years, Ferrari insisted it would never build an SUV. Not because it lacked the engineering capability, but because it feared the cost to its brand.

SUVs were clumsy, compromised and commercial – cars for the school drop-off and the supermarket run.

Ferraris were none of those, of course. The Prancing Horse kept turning out two-seater sports cars, GTs and spyders in a seductive array of models and variations. The Italian master designers had plenty of imagination, and the buyers kept paying top dollar for new versions of their ultra-fast, eye-catching cars.

SUVs, in contrast, were what rival marques built when they ran out of ideas beyond the bottom line.

Yet the market kept moving, and perceptions of SUVs changed, especially in the Gulf. Porsche proved with the Cayenne that brand heresy could become brand salvation. Lamborghini followed with the Urus. Rolls-Royce delivered the Cullinan – perhaps the pinnacle of luxury SUV achievement.

Ferrari watched all this carefully, publicly dismissive, privately absorbing the lesson: if it ever did build an SUV, it would have to feel unmistakably Ferrari. That, more than anything, explains the delay.

Which is kind of a shame, because Ferrari fans – the “Tifosi” as they call themselves – had to wait so long for a car that is very good indeed, and has gone down a storm on the image-conscious roads of Dubai.

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As you’d expect from the masters of Maranello, the Purosangue is a beautiful piece of engineering. Its powerful but graceful lines do not really look like an SUV at all – more like a sports car that’s been working out hard in the gym.

It is powered by a 6.5-litre V12 – one of the few 12 cylinder line-ups on the roads these days – producing around 715 horsepower. In an era of downsizing, turbocharging and electrification, Ferrari’s decision to stick with a V12 feels almost defiant. It is not the most efficient solution, but it is the most dramatic.

Performance figures are suitably theatrical: zero to 100km/h in about 3.3 seconds and a top speed well north of 300km/h. These numbers are impressive, but no more so than how the car delivers them. The engine is immediate and vocal, from a deep idling purr to an accelerated growl once you put your foot down. 

Behind the wheel in the chrome and Alcantara cockpit, what is most striking is how little the Purosangue feels like an SUV. The driving position is higher, of course, but the steering is quick and precise, and the suspension glues you to the road like on an F1 track.

Through bends and roundabouts there’s remarkable composure. You are always aware of the car’s size, but also aware that that it can leap into sports mode at the touch of a button and a bit of gas.

Ferrari hasn’t tried to make an SUV handle like a sports car: it has made a sports car that just happens to sit higher off the ground.

The V12 dominates the experience, turning every stretch of open road into a small performance. Easing off a line of traffic from an entry ramp onto Sheikh Zayed Road and aiming for the outside lane was a liberating experience. 

The Purosangue feels particularly well suited to Dubai. This is a city where image matters, but so does usability. Distances are long, traffic can be unpredictable, and roads alternate between billiard-table smooth and abruptly imperfect, with random speed-bumps.

Here, the Purosangue makes sense. It has presence without pretence, performance without impracticality. It can glide through the city in comfort, then stretch its legs on faster roads without ever feeling out of place. In a market saturated with supercars, the Purosangue lives up to its name as a thoroughbred.

And it has been a big hit in the UAE, to the extent that there is an informal “grey market” in the car. You can order one for delivery at around AED2 million and wait six months to a year – or jump the line privately with an offer in the AED3 million region. After all, one of Ferrari’s marketing jingles is “la perfezione ha un prezzo” – perfection has a price. 

Ferrari took its time with the SUV question because it knew the stakes. Get it wrong, and the damage to the brand could be existential. Judging by the reception to the car in Dubai, it has got it dead right.

Frank Kane is Editor-at-Large of AGBI and an award-winning business journalist. He acts as a consultant to the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia