Ferrari Prosangue SUV with 715 hp V12 engine and sous vide door unveiled.
Ferrari unveiled the Prosangue on Tuesday, the brand's first nod to the popularity of SUVs.
Prosangue, which means "thoroughbred" in Italian, is a crossover with a low center of gravity rather than a true SUV. Unveiled in Pisa, Italy, it closely resembles the taller version of its direct successor, the GTC4 Lusso hatchback, thanks to practical elements such as four doors (a first for a production Ferrari), 2+2 seating, and a ground clearance not set low enough to scrape pavement, It should remain popular.
These are important even among shoppers for exotic brands like Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The same would be true for Ferrari and the Prosangue, which is expected to be introduced in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2023.
Underpinning the Prosangue is a new front mid-engine platform developed by Ferrari for its Grand Touring models. This platform complements the new mid-engine architecture debuted in the SF90 Stradale and introduced in the 296 GTB, with the transmission mounted in the rear to achieve a near ideal weight distribution of 49:51.
A mechanical all-wheel drive system is also included. Unlike the common AWD system with a center differential, Ferrari's setup, known as 4RM, relies on a two-speed transmission mounted at the front of the engine and transmitting power directly from the crankshaft to the front wheels. In this case, it uses a set of clutches that can vary the torque between the front wheels. A regular torque tube at the other end of the engine directs power to a rear-mounted transmission, in this case an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic.
The engine is a newly developed 6.5-liter V-12. It produces a maximum output of 715 hp and 528 lb-ft of torque, accelerates from 0-62 mph in 3.3 seconds, and has a top speed of over 192 mph. These numbers are impressive considering that the dry weight of the Purosangue is 4,480 pounds. Helping to move this heavy horse is the engine's ability to generate 80% of its peak torque from just 2,100 rpm.
The Prosangue could have been even heavier, but Ferrari used a high-strength aluminum alloy for the space frame chassis to reduce weight while maintaining rigidity. Carbon fiber was also used for some of the body panels, including the roof, to help reduce weight. The carbon roof can be replaced with electrochromic glass.
The body styling follows the handsome theme first introduced on the Loma Coupe, but the new design includes four doors, with the two rear doors mounted as rear-hinged suicide doors similar to those used on the Mazda RX-8 sports car. This allowed the design team to keep the sporty coupe-like side view.
The interior has four separate seats, but the rear seats are still smaller than a typical SUV. The trunk has a cargo capacity of 16.7 cubic feet, but the rear seats can be folded flat if more space is needed. The dash design is similar to the SF90 Stradale, featuring dual cowls and a 10.2-inch touchscreen display in the passenger cowl.
The Prosangue also has more luxury goodies than the typical Ferrari, where performance tends to be the primary focus. The Ferrari SUV adds items such as a premium Burmester audio system, massage seats, cabin air filtration, and copper-weaved carbon fiber trim. Given that many customers use their cell phones for navigation, Prosangue replaces the traditional built-in navigation system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration.
Pricing in the U.S. will be announced closer to the local launch, but will start at 390,000 euros (about $391,000) in Ferrari's home market. In order to maintain exclusivity, Ferrari plans to limit annual production to about 3,000 cars, which is about 20% of Ferrari's total annual production of 15,000 cars. This means that finding an actual example on the list is next to impossible.
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