2023 Ferrari Purosangue: What We Know So Far

The prancing horse brand enters the SUV game with a vehicle that's much more sport than utility.

Alex Nishimoto | 

Nov 8, 2022 | 3 min read

Ferrari

Even those with minimal knowledge of the Italian sports car maker can envision a Ferrari: a two-door coupe or convertible, often painted red, with a prancing horse badge on the hood.

With the reveal of the 2023 Ferrari Purosangue, Ferrari's first production four-door and its first SUV, that most basic description no longer applies.

After years of resisting the sports car-branded SUV trend, a trail blazed by the Porsche Cayenne 20 years ago, Ferrari has finally buckled to the pressure. But the company would only build such a vehicle if it could do it in a way that was true to its performance values. In other words, a Ferrari SUV would need to pass the Ferrari smell test with its customers. Ferrari believes it has pulled that off with the Purosangue (which is Italian for thoroughbred).

Ferrari

Performance

It should be no surprise that Ferrari would build an SUV with performance as its top priority. Under the hood of the Purosangue is a 6.5-liter V12 engine making 715 horsepower and 528 lb-ft of torque. It produces 80% of that torque at just 2,100 rpm, which is impressive for a non-turbocharged engine. Though it makes a healthy amount of torque down low in its power band, the Purosangue will be rev-happy given its 8,250-rpm redline. You can expect a sweet engine note as you approach the rev limit.

Ferrari estimates the Purosangue will accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds and go on to a top speed of 192 mph. But straight-line speed isn't the Ferrari SUV's only party trick. Thanks to a rear transaxle and an engine set as far back as possible, the Purosangue boasts a 49:51 weight distribution–the ideal balance for a front-mid-engine sports car, according to Ferrari. The Purosangue also uses an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system derived from the one in the Ferrari GTC4Lusso shooting brake and has a trick suspension accommodating the SUV's higher ride height with electric motors actuating each damper to reduce body roll. This SUV should feel right at home on a racetrack or curvy back road.

Ferrari

Utility

Ferrari insists that its newest creation is a sports car, not an SUV, but its raised ride height, tall roof, and rear liftgate say otherwise. The Purosangue features a pair of rear-hinged doors aft of the B-pillar, which grant access to the rear seats.

Ferrari

The second row is spacious compared to other 2+2 Ferrari models, but the Purosangue has room for only two in the back, just like those multi-passenger coupes before it. You may want to look elsewhere if you need to haul things in your sports car-SUV mashup. The Purosangue has just 16.7 cubic feet of cargo space or about the same as the trunk of a Honda Accord. For comparison, the Lamborghini Urus offers about 21.8 cubic feet of space.

Price and Availability

Deliveries of the 2023 Ferrari Purosangue are slated to begin in late 2023. The company hasn't revealed exact pricing yet, but the model could command around $400,000.

Ferrari

If the high sticker price alone doesn't keep it exclusive, Ferrari's management will see to that. The top brass in Maranello has decreed that the Purosangue will make up no more than 20% of Ferrari's total sales volume, contrary to the business plans of other ultra-premium makes that position their SUVs as high-volume profit machines.

The Purosangue's closest competitor will be the Lamborghini Urus, though it will also go up against the Aston Martin DBX, Bentley Bentayga, and other six-figure exotic sport-utes. Can it succeed at being both an SUV and a genuine Ferrari without diluting the iconic sports car brand? Only time will tell.

Alex Nishimoto

Alex Nishimoto is a Los Angeles-based writer with 15 years experience covering the auto industry. He spent much of his career as an editor on staff at a major automotive magazine, testing cars, writing articles, and assisting on segment-defining comparison tests. When he's not writing about cars, he's wrenching on his E30-generation BMW 325is, which he's owned since college and plans to restore one day.