Frank Stephenson, the man who designed the first X5, is a fan of the most controversial Ferrari of the modern era. “This, for me, is a beautiful car. It maintains the essence of what a Ferrari is all about, and it’s got that sensuality. It’s dynamic, curvaceous, absolutely sexy,” said Stephenson.
There are, however, a few details that Frank isn’t exactly fond of. “In my opinion, it’s not a sport utility vehicle. Let’s call it an Autostrada Stormer,” whatever that may be. Given the car’s proportions and low-slung roofline, Ferrari's first SUV is definitely more of a jacked-up wagon than a bonafide SUV. Stephenson does not like the gaping intakes of the front bumper either, the headlights, and the cut lines of the hood where it meets the front bumpers, the A-pillar area, side mirrors, and door handles.
The wheel-arch cladding isn’t to his liking either, but nonetheless, Frank considers the Purosangue as a unique design that carved its own niche in the super-sport SUV segment. A very different affair from the V8-engined Lamborghini Urus that features Volkswagen Group underpinnings and oily bits, the Ferrari Purosangue was penned at Centro Stile Ferrari under the careful guidance of senior vice president of design Flavio Manzoni.
Manzoni has also worked on the Volkswagen Golf VI and Gold VII, the Ferrari FF and GTC4Lusso, as well as the V6-engined 296 series and the recently unveiled 499P hypercar. The latter uses a force-fed V6 of the 296, but it’s not as powerful because of the Balance of Performance that aims to level the playing field. The BoP limits the overall power of Le Mans Hypercars and Le Mans Daytona Hypercars to 500 kW (671 horsepower).
Revealed with much pomp and circumstance on September 13th, the Purosangue is currently available exclusively with a naturally-aspirated V12. This makes it all the more special in the super-sport sport utility vehicle segment, more so because it can spin to an ear-splitting 8,250 rpm.
In Frank's view, the Purosangue is a 9.55 out of 10 in terms of design.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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