After years of anticipation, Ferrari has unveiled the Purosangue, the prancing pony’s first ever four-door, four-seater car.
Since the marque’s earliest years, 2+2 cars – those with two front and two smaller back seats – have played a significant role in its strategy. 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 brand’s iconic DNA, which is why they named it the Italian for ‘thoroughbred’.
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Unlike most modern GTs, which have an engine that’s perched above the front axle, with the gearbox coupled directly to it, resulting in less than optimal weight distribution, the new Purosangue has a mid-front-mounted naturally-aspirated V12 engine with the gearbox at the rear to create a sporty transaxle layout. In fat, 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.
In adition, the Purosangue’s aero development was focused on making the bodywork, underbody and rear diffuser as efficient as possible. New solutions include synergy between the front bumper and wheel arch trim which generates an air curtain that aerodynamically seals the front wheels, preventing the generation of turbulent transverse air flows.
Ferrari has also given the Purosangue the very latest iterations of the vehicle dynamic control systems introduced on its most powerful sports cars, including independent four-wheel steering and ABS ‘evo’ with the 6-way Chassis Dynamic Sensor (6w-CDS). Making its world debut is the new Ferrari active suspension system, which effectively controls body roll in corners as well as the tyre contact patch over high-frequency bumps to deliver the same performance and handling response as in one of the marque’s sports cars.
The all-new chassis has a carbon-fibre roof as standard to keep weight down and to lower the centre of gravity. Redesigning the bodyshell from scratch also meant the designers could incorporate rear-hinged back doors (also known as ‘welcome doors’) to make ingress and egress easier while keeping the car as compact as possible. The cabin has four generous heated electric seats that will comfortably accommodate four adults, while the boot is the largest ever seen on a Ferrari and the rear seats fold to increase the luggage space.
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Naturally enough, the Purosangue has a more commanding driving position than other Ferraris, but the configuration is the same as on every other Ferrari. As a result, the driving position is still intimate and close to the floor to provide a greater connection to the car’s dynamic capabilities.
No SUV, the Purosangue offers class-leading performance figures – think 0 to 100 km/h in 3.3 s and from 0 to 200 in 10.6 s – while a vast array of comfort-focused content is provided as standard, such as the Burmester audio system.
Perfect as long as the four of you can agree on a Spotify playlist.
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