Chris Harris Says “Every Wealthy Tasteless Person” Will Buy a Ferrari Purosangue

First and foremost, Porsche set the stage for the Purosangue no fewer than 18 years ago. The mid-size Cayenne and compact Macan make up most of the German automaker’s global sales, and without them, the glorious 911 may not be with us here today.

Secondly, Ferrari needs a replacement for the GTC4Lusso and GTC4Lusso T four-seat grand tourers. The Prancing Horse let it slip that a 2+2 layout rather than five seats is preferable for this application, but the Purosangue has one more trick up its sleeve. More to the point, rear doors are also in the pipeline for a total of five doors.

Enzo Ferrari is probably rolling in his grave, but he would agree that the SUV needs to happen. Much to his reluctance, Il Commendatore understood that selling high-performance road cars is a means to an end. That end is Scuderia Ferrari, the racing arm responsible for 16 constructors’ and 15 drivers’ championships in Formula 1.

Chris Harris couldn’t care less about the Purosangue, but understands this model’s importance for Ferrari. “It can’t sit back and watch Lamborghini raking it with the Urus and not want a piece of that action,” he told Top Gear Magazine editor Jack Rix.

The British journalist and television presenter has also highlighted how the Purosangue will dilute the brand, an inevitable consequence of a supersports car manufacturer venturing into this segment. “Every wealthy tasteless person is gonna want one, and there’s a lot of those about,” he added.

Does Ferrari care about who buys their cars? Of course, it does, but the Purosangue is the exception to this rule because utility vehicles are inherently universal in their appeal. A compromise in the eyes of an enthusiast, the Italian automaker’s SUV can be summed up as the necessary evil that Ferrari needs in order to go forward with mid-engine supercars, front-engined grand tourers, and full-on hypercars.