2024 FERRARI PUROSANGUE
At some point, a memo must have gone out. It decreed that all super-SUVs would hew to the same template: twin-turbo V-8, a torque-converter automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive, all stuffed into a rakish but conventional four-door body. That's the formula Mercedes-AMG, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Maserati, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini practice. Ferrari, though, didn't get the memo. Its first SUV, the Purosangue, uses a 715-hp naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V-12 and a rear-mounted dual-clutch transaxle. A separate two-speed transmission delivers drive to the front axle. The rear doors are rear-hinged and power-operated, offering primo access to a pair of heated, ventilated, massaging back seats. And there's Multimatic active dampers, four-wheel steering, and bodywork that has more aero tricks than a Formula 1 car. Ferrari was cognizant that its first SUV had to be something special. The result is a family transport that'll make a fine companion to whatever other exotics populate a given garage, valet line, or secret underground lair.
Never having built a four-door, Ferrari appears to think that the rear-door hinges go in back. The right-seat display provides incriminating info to passengers.
The dry-sump, direct-injected V-12 delivers 80 percent of its 528 pound-feet of torque at 2100 rpm but is still good for an 8000-rpm redline. The front transmission is derived from the one that debuted in the 2012 FF and is driven off the nose of the engine, with two clutches that enable front-axle torque vectoring (and allow the two-speed front transmission to match wheel speed with the first four forward gears of the rear transaxle). Ferrari claims a zero-to62-mph time of 3.3 seconds, which seems plausible, if not conservative.
This story is from the May 2023 edition of Car and Driver.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2023 edition of Car and Driver.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Great Aspirations
Highs: Excellent fuel economy, good controls, quiet on the highway. Lows: Bigger outside than inside, just-average dynamics, premium pricing.
Treading Water
Highs: Sharper styling, big new touchscreen, solid electric range. Lows: No all-wheel drive, steep pricing, rivals are quicker.
Higher-Purpose Hybrid
Forget electric range. This plug-in hybrid delivers 791 horsepower.
1979-93 - WHAT TO BUY: SAAB 900
Echoing the design of the long-running 99 that preceded it, the updated and modernized Saab 900 was the car that brought the fringe Swedish brand into its closest proximity to the mainstream, which honestly wasn't that close.
12-Cylinder Salute
Bentley makes 18 Continental GT-based Baturs as a send-off for its W-12.
How to Winch in a Pinch
We head out into the Utah wilderness with the Cameron Advanced Mobility team to learn to off-road like military special forces.
Time Machines
A trip to Duncan Imports prompts an unexpected rendezvous with cars from my past. And want them all back. Well, except maybe the Ram.
Now Hear This
Automakers are going to new lengths to create the sounds of modern cars.
Getting Hammered
Jonathan Hodgman isn't afraid of a challenge, and his shop, Blue Ridge Mercedes, specializes in the difficult task of repairing early AMGS.
2022 GENESIS GV70
Long-Term Test AFTER TRACKING EVERY FILL-UP, SERVICE, PROBLEM, COMPLAINT, DENT, AND DOG HAIR, CAR AND DRIVER PRESENTS THE 40,000-MILE EVALUATION.