Don’t look now, but it appears that hell is indeed freezing over. One of the last automakers to resist the allure of SUVs is reportedly on the brink of jumping in, and wouldn’t you know it, that automaker is Ferrari. The suggestion itself is enough to make automotive talking heads explode, but a recent report from Car Magazine is suggesting that Ferrari is actually well past the point of "considering" an SUV; it’s already in the active project phase and it even has its own codename: F16X.

The full scope of details surrounding the rumored Ferrari SUV haven't yet been announced, but the same report from Car Magazine is saying the model will take the shape of a high-riding, five-door coupe and will be developed together with the successor of the Ferrari GTC4, which itself is scheduled to be replaced in 2020. Among the bits of sourced information revealed by the report include the likelihood that the model will use an aluminum architecture and will also feature suicide doors and an all-wheel drive system. It’s also thought of that the F16X will also make use of either a V-8 engine or a hybrid powertrain. Should it end up with the latter, it would become the first hybrid car in Maranello’s history that’s not named LaFerrari. The timetable for the model’s release is still unclear, although there’s a strong possibility that we won’t see it arrive either in concept or production form anytime soon. If it does come to pass and Ferrari green-lights a production version, look for the SUV to attract a price in the vicinity of €300,000, or just a little under $350,000.

Car Magazine

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We’ve heard so many times from Ferrari in the past that it wasn’t going to build an SUV. Former CEO Luca Montezemolo was unabashedly against it. Even current CEO Sergio Marchionne said he’d have himself shot first before he signs off on an SUV model. Well, if this report from Car is accurate, it’s a good thing that nobody took Marchionne’s comments with anything more than a couple of grains of salt.

It is actually amusing that we’re taking Ferrari to task for finally thawing on its stance on SUVs. It’s not like the Italian automaker has puffed its chest on a segment, saying it would never cross those waters, only to do so eventually. Remember how it was against hybrids in the beginning? Well, the LaFerrari happened and if this rumored SUV does get a hybrid powertrain of its own, history will repeat itself in more ways than one.

This isn’t a slight against the company; far from it actually. This is a smart business move that other automakers who first were cold on SUVs have already noticed. Bentley, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Rolls-Royce probably didn’t have SUVs in their sights until the segment’s overwhelming popularity made it impossible for them to ignore it. Now, look where it’s gotten them. The Bentayga has been enormously successful despite commanding a price around $200,000. Lamborghini and Aston Martin have high hopes for the Urus and DBX, respectively, believing that these two models have the potential to carry their respective sales numbers to record levels. Even Rolls-Royce is putting in a lot of work on the Cullinan to make it the most luxurious SUV in the market.

If all these companies could warm up to SUVs, there’s no reason why Ferrari shouldn’t either. Maranello does have its own goals of accelerating its sales numbers by the early part of the next decade. And as its rivals have shown, the SUV market is the quickest and surest way for Ferrari to meet those goals. Money talks, folks. Even Ferrari isn’t exempt from taking full advantage of where it can break the most bank.

References

Read our full speculative review on the 2020 Ferrari SUV.