With an estimated maximum output of 1,000 horsepower and a price tag that screams -FU Money- this is everything you need to know about the upcoming, 2022 Ferrari Purosangue, the Italian brand’s first-ever SUV and possibly the most hated, yet to be seen car of all time. So keep reading find out why Ferrari making an SUV isn’t such a crazy idea as you might think, and how it could cement the brand’s stability for decades to come.

Update: The Ferrari Purosangue is confirmed to arrive with a normally-aspirated V-12 engine, without any form of electrification. It is believed that this will be a revised version of the 6.5-liter V-12 unit. The engine will be available from the car's arrival on sale, at the beginning of 2023. A V-8 and a V-6 hybrid are said to follow shortly after the car hits the market.

The Ferrari Purosangue Is Real

Ok, so remember how former Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne killed off any hope of a Maranello-made SUV, saying that he had to be shot before he would green-light something like this? Well, now, in 2021, it’s pretty clear that Ferrari is actively working on a performance SUV that will be called Purosangue, which means pure blood. It will compete with the likes of the Lamborghini Urus, Aston Martin DBX, and Bentley Bentayga.

The Purosangue Is All About Money, Nothing Else

Before I get into the hot details, let me just quickly explain why I think Ferrari is finally entering this market and why it’s not really such a big deal as some purists tend to think. And it has everything to do with money, as always. You see, the Purosangue wouldn’t even be the first four-door Ferrari, with two past models coming into mind - the 1980 Pinin sedan concept and the very rare 456 GT Venice wagon. So there’s some sort of heritage there.

Also, since 2015, Ferrari has been a publicly traded company, and that means investors want to make money - and what’s more profitable than a good old SUV? A Ferrari-branded SUV, of course.

And just like the Porsche Cayenne before it, a car that was loathed by just about everybody when it came out, but eventually became Porsche’s greatest seller, Ferrari’s offering will certainly do the same - make more money for the brand, money that will be then used to develop better versions of their sports cars and supercars.

The First Ever SUV To Become A Collectors Item, Except It Isn’t An SUV

Obviously, the first-ever Ferrari SUV will most probably be a collector’s item, even if it doesn’t look like it right now. More to the point, the Italian car maker doesn’t even refer to the Purosangue as an SUV, for them, it’s an FUV. But what is an FUV? Well, it’s a “Ferrari Utility Vehicle”. In other words, it’s almost a given that this thing will drive extremely well, just like Lamborghini managed to make the Urus an amazing vehicle - which, again, is making the firm more money than ever before.

The Pursosangue Will Be A Coupe-SUV Like the X6

Based on some information released by Ferrari back in September of 2018, we have the notion that it will be more of a coupe-ish SUV, something similar to the BMW X6. With that, we also learned that it would offer all-wheel drive and a low center of gravity thanks to a front-mid-engine configuration.

Self-Leveling Rear Suspension

The whole thing would be built on a modular architecture that would allow for a variable wheelbase, rear-mounted transaxle transmission, and variable rear clearance - which is another way of saying it will have self-leveling rear suspension.

However, this isn’t the most important bit of information that I found - because, in truth, a performance SUV is expected to have all these features.

What Really Matters Is Under The Hood

In short, there are three possible powertrain options that could be used in the Purosangue - a V8 with 612 horsepower, a hybrid V8 with a whopping 986 horsepower, or a V12 with 789 horsepower. We knew based on the information given back in 2018 that the Purosangue was designed with a hybrid system in mind, but at the time we didn’t know much about engine options.

A year later, almost to the day, in September of 2019, we learned that the Purosangue’s architecture could be scaled to support a V-6, V-8, or V-12, but with emissions regulations, I was always skeptical about the V-12 voicing its opinion in Ferrari’s first SUV or what role hybridization would play in the V-12’s application here. However, according to a report from AutoExpress, an evolved version of Ferrari's 6.5-liter V-12 could be offered in the Purosangue, but without electrification.

The main reason behind this is that the V-12 and big batteries would just make the Purosangue too heavy. Would it be too heavy for the Purosangue to emit the Ferrari vibe everyone expects? Yeah; probably, so don’t expect Ferrari to ever do it.

There’s a Good Chance The Purosangue Will Be Hybrid

All of this doesn’t mean that the hybrid drivetrain is out of the question. That’s actually where the scalable architecture comes into play. Since the Purosangue is able to support a full engine lineup from 6 to 12 cylinders, Ferrari will likely offer the hybrid drive system with a smaller V-8, possibly the one found in the new SF90 Stradale, which employs an all-electric front drive system. This would mean a 4.0-liter V8 and three electric motors that make a combined 986 horsepower or 1,000 PS.

However, in the information released back in 2018, the official graphic depicted the hybrid drive system being integrated into the rear of the vehicle, somewhere ahead of the transaxle transmission. So there’s still a fair bit of uncertainty.

What we do know is that it will be AWD, and with the hybrid drivetrain, it may well get some all-electric driving abilities. I wouldn’t expect a lot, but 15 to 20 miles of range isn’t necessarily out of the question, especially since the hybrid models are expected to be of the plug-in variety.

Riding On Ferrari Roma Underpinnings

As for its underpinnings, the Purosangue will reportedly be based on the same platform as the new Roma – adapted to an SUV body, of course. And this is where things get a little murkier, because it means the Roma’s 3.9-liter V8 is also a strong candidate for motivation. If this will be the case, expect a power output of about 620 horsepower, which would be perfectly inline with the other performance SUVs on the market today.

Pricing And Final Thoughts

It’s really hard not to point out the irony that falls between the late Sergio Marchionne’s comment and the upcoming debut of a Ferrari SUV. Sorry, FUV. I wouldn’t expect the Purosangue to open the door for more SUVs in the future, but it will certainly make its mark. If the popularity of the Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne is any indication, the Ferrari Purosangue will probably be a big hit as well.

Not necessarily a high-volume seller, considering its price will hover around the 350,000 dollars mark, but a valuable one nonetheless.

The question now is whether or not Ferrari can build an SUV, or an FUV, as they like to say, and still manage to make it drive like a Ferrari. I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out, but it seems they’re getting there. According to TopGear, the Italian brand knows what’s necessary for an SUV to be a real Ferrari, and that it’s not a contradiction in terms.

But what do you think? Will Ferrari’s Purosangue be a match for the likes of the Lamborghini Urus or Audi SQ8? Let me know in the comments below.