It may be one of the last holdouts, but Ferrari is
indeed working on a crossover. And that’s just what we appear to be looking at
in this regrettably brief and low-res but revealing spy video. Apparently captured through a
fence around the factory in Maranello, this test mule looks like a taped-up
GTC4 Lusso. But it appears to be riding higher on its suspension, and the heavy
camouflage and extensively modified bodywork betray what’s likely going on
underneath.
Slated to be called the Purosangue – Italian for
“pure blood” or “thoroughbred” – Maranello’s debut crossover promises to take
Ferrari off the beaten path and propel it into a rapidly growing market that’s
displayed an insatiable appetite for ever faster, more expensive, and more
exotic high-riders.
It’s a development that’s already prompted the likes
of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Lamborghini (to say nothing of Jaguar, Bentley,
and Rolls-Royce) to launch their own crossovers, with Aston Martin soon the
join them. The Ferrari Purosangue, though, may turn out to be the fastest, most
expensive, and most exotic of them all – at least until Bugatti gets in on the
action. And we owe it all to the Porsche Cayenne, which kicked off the trend
when it launched in 2002 as the first crossover from a European manufacturer
previously focused exclusively on two-door sports cars.
Expect Ferrari’s to take a rather less conventional
approach, closer to a GTC4 Lusso (which already packs all-wheel drive and a
rear liftgate) on stilts. With a more streamlined shape and hidden rear doors,
the Purosangue will likely cut a silhouette closer to that of the Aston Martin
DBX concept than the Cayenne or Urus. And you can bet it’ll bring the power and
the pace we’ve come to expect from the House of the Prancing Horse.
