After years of anticipation by the international automotive fraternity, Ferrari unveiled the Purosangue, the first ever four-door, four-seater car in the Prancing Horse’s 75-year history, in the magnificently atmospheric surroundings of the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico (Pisa). To enable the company to achieve the ambitious goals set for this project and create a car worthy of a place in its range, a completely different layout and innovative proportions compared to modern GT archetypes (so-called crossovers and SUVs) were adopted. The average modern GT’s engine is mounted forwards in the car, almost straddling the front axle with the gearbox coupled directly to it; this results in less than optimal weight distribution that delivers driving dynamics and driving pleasure well short of the standards of excellence to which Prancing Horse clients and enthusiasts have become accustomed. Since the marque’s earliest years, 2+2 cars (i.e. with two front and two smaller back seats) have played a significant role in its strategy. Many Ferraris have made combining benchmark performance with first class comfort one of the pillars of their success. Now, in the culmination of 75 years of leading-edge research, Ferrari has created a car that is unique on the world stage: not only do performance, driving pleasure and comfort coexist in perfect harmony, but it is also a peerless encapsulation of the Prancing Horse’s iconic DNA. This is the reason why the name Purosangue, Italian for ‘thoroughbred’, was chosen. The Purosangue, on the other hand, has a mid-front-mounted engine with the gearbox at the rear to create a sporty transaxle layout. The Power Transfer Unit (PTU) is coupled in front of the engine to provide a unique 4×4 transmission. This delivers exactly the 49:51% weight distribution that Maranello’s engineers deem optimal for a mid-front-engined sports car.
The Ferrari Purosangue offers a vast range of optional content and personalisation choices that will allow every owner to strike the perfect balance between comfort and performance. Aside from a huge array of exterior and interior colours, including some specific to the model, further innovative solutions have been introduced that are new to the Ferrari range or indeed the market as a whole. The massaging front seats feature 10 air bags that deliver a relaxing, targeted massage with a choice of five different types of massage and three levels of intensity. In a Ferrari first, owners are being offered the opportunity to personalise the roof of their car: they can opt for a full-length electrochromic glass roof instead of the carbon-fibre version offered as standard. The glass is coated on its lower surface with an electro-sensitive film. When a small electric current is passed through the film, it changes its tint level to either flood the cabin with sunlight or provide shade where necessary. For the first time the car also offers compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay systems as standard. These substitute the traditional built-in navigation system. In an absolute first for the Ferrari range, the Purosangue also has an air quality sensor that can check the air outside the car and improve quality in the cabin by smart air recirculation control and use of filters that can prevent particles of up to PM2.5 from entering the car.
The Ferrari Purosangue stands head and shoulders above the rest of the market thanks to its performance and comfort. It is the only car with these proportions to sport a mid-front-mounted, naturally-aspirated V12. Maranello’s most iconic engine debuts in this brand new configuration to ensure the car unleashes more power than any other in the segment (725 cv) whilst guaranteeing the most enthralling Ferrari engine soundtrack. Furthermore, it can deliver 80% torque even at low revs for unique driving pleasure at all times. Ferrari has also given the Purosangue the very latest iterations of the vehicle dynamic control systems introduced on its most powerful and exclusive sports cars, including independent four-wheel steering and ABS ‘evo’ with the 6-way Chassis Dynamic Sensor (6w-CDS). Making its world debut is the new Ferrari active suspension system. This very effectively controls body roll in corners as well as the tyre contact patch over high-frequency bumps to deliver the same performance and handling response as in one of the marque’s sports cars. The Purosangue’s aero development focused on making the bodywork, underbody and rear diffuser as efficient as possible. New solutions include synergy between the front bumper and wheelarch trim which generates an air curtain that aerodynamically seals the front wheels, preventing turbulent transverse air flows being generated. The all-new chassis has a carbon-fibre roof as standard to keep weight down and lower the centre of gravity. The Purosangue offers class-leading performance figures (from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.3 s and from 0 to 200 in 10.6 s); the driving position and the heady, naturally-aspirated V12 soundtrack deliver an entirely new yet also entirely Ferrari driving experience. The fact that a vast array of comfort-focused content is provided as standard, such as the Burmester© audio system, and that the many optional extras including the brand-new Alcantara® upholstery, derived from certified recycled polyester, make the Purosangue the most complete four-door, four-seater in the segment.
The very different volumes and constraints of the truly unique Purosangue posed a completely new challenge for Ferrari’s aerodynamic department, so a radical rethink of both methods and solutions was demanded. The extremely ambitious drag reduction target, the specific usability and accessibility demands of this particular model, and the need to cool the imposing V12 and ancillaries demanded hundreds of hours in the wind tunnel and thousands of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations. The kind of development work dedicated to the fastest and most powerful sports cars in the range, in fact. The best possible compromise between the need for the smoothest design possible for the roof-rear screen line and the need to reduce the height of the tail itself was achieved by using two elements that complete the aero package for the rear of the car: the suspended spoiler and the nolder on the lip of the boot. While the suspended spoiler helps neutralise the curvature of the roof downstream of the area over the heads of the rear-seat passengers, the nolder, which is barely 7mm high, channels the wake vortices to create a slight recompression at the tail of the car. The primary focus of the Purosangue’s aero design was the car’s centreline section, essential to both the air flow design and to reduce the drag coefficient (Cd), as well as minimising the frontal surface area. The car’s front silhouette was designed to create the most seamless continuity of profile possible between the area of maximum curvature of the bonnet and the windscreen header rail. The rear area of the roof, the rear screen and the spoiler, on the other hand, demanded most work because it is fundamental to managing flow separations and pressure fields. Moving from the centreline section to the rear volume, a scoop can be seen starting at the rear of the roof and extending onto the rear screen which creates two crests, one on each side of it. This solution helps to maintain the headspace required for the rear-seat passengers whilst still correctly separating the flows from the upper part of the roof and those along the greenhouse area.
The Ferrari Purosangue’s chassis is completely new and was designed from scratch with the aim of producing a structure of uncompromising rigidity. The lower chassis structure is made entirely from high-strength aluminium alloy and draws on Ferrari’s enormous experience in the optimal use of these light alloys. Together with the structural elements of the upper body, it makes up a spaceframe chassis comprised of closed-section extrusions connected by castings into which load-bearing aluminium sheet metal elements are integrated. The extensive use of hollow castings with thin walls – made using internal cores – helped optimise the structure, maximising performance and guaranteeing improved continuity in the stress lines which, in turn, guarantees all-important occupant safety requirements. Furthermore, this particular technology improves assembly quality thanks to more precise integration, fewer components and the consequent reduction in weld lines. The chassis is thus lighter than Ferrari’s previous four-seaters’ despite being larger. Improved torsional rigidity (+30%) and beam stiffness (+25%) figures are both fundamental in improving NVH characteristics and thus comfort by smoothly and silently absorbing asperities in road surfaces as well as providing an exceptional feeling of structural integrity. High-strength steel is used for the anti-intrusion bars, the reinforcements on the main nodes and the B-pillar. Our meticulous attention to detail at the design stage also resulted in the use of different materials within individual components. One example is the single rear door hinge: the fixed part is an aluminium casting while the mobile part is constructed from hot-stamped steel. The bodyshell is made from materials ranging from aluminium to carbon-fibre, with the introduction of high-strength steel in important areas and flanking the mechanical joins with structural adhesive. Combining these different materials guaranteed maximum strength where required and also light weight in areas not subject to stress.
Despite the fact that the Purosangue’s volumes are more imposing than Ferrari’s most powerful sports cars, the way the height is treated stylistically creates an impression of overall lightness. At the same time, to give the Purosangue a powerful stance of its own, the Ferrari Styling Centre opted to craft boldly original forms. The front of the car flows back seamlessly into the flanks and develops on several levels developing a dynamic, horizontal language. The Purosangue doesn’t have a front grille – this is been replaced by a dihedral suspended on the lower section delivering a more technical aesthetic. Two shells create a suspended disc form with a slot that houses the camera and parking sensors, so that they are integrated seamlessly into the car’s shape. At each side of the bonnet are the DLRs which are set between two pairs of air intakes which meld into the upper part of the flanks, underscoring the styling theme. The result is that the Purosangue’s front styling is dominated by blown aero ducts rather than headlights. The Ferrari Purosangue’s form was conceived as a sculpture that showcases and heightens its stunning aerodynamic development. Physical evidence of this lies in various details including, for instance, the pontoon effect of the aerobridge between front and flanks. Every single aero element was seen as an opportunity to further hone that original sculptural look, underscoring the car’s stylistic message. The concept of lightness and compactness was also applied to the roof with its characteristics emphasised by the imposing rear wings which give the car’s silhouette its unique proportions. Above the technical radiator grille treatment, the long sculpted bonnet extends, rippling with gently rounded muscles which flow into wing-profile surfaces. These aerobridges create a sense of continuity between bonnet and flanks. The aerobridge theme characterises the flanks as the form runs along the side, becoming the main styling theme and creating a dihedral shape which ends in the imposing rear muscle. The wheelarch trim treatment reveals the Purosangue’s second skin beneath the bodywork. The functional and technical elements become a second visual layer and this creates the impression almost of a floating coupé.
Development of the Purosangue’s dynamic performance focused on creating a car that was completely unprecedented on the world stage: a model offering usability and comfort standards that would position it at the very top of the market as well as delivering signature Ferrari vehicle dynamics and performance on a par with the rest of the range. One advantage of Ferrari’s active suspension system is the speed at which the TASV 48-volt motor actuators apply force in the direction of the damper’s stroke. The high-power density, three-phase brushless electric motor was co-developed for this application by Ferrari. The motor uses “slotless” stator winding technology to minimize radial dimensions and maximize power density. From a mechanical point of view, the motor force is transmitted in a novel way via a twin-lead ball screw connected directly to the hydraulic damper piston rod which enables high-frequency response and reduces friction, inertia and package space. The Ferrari Purosangue boasts a unique, innovative system that is a world first: Ferrari active suspension technology enabled by Multimatic’s True Active Spool Valve (TASV) System. Compared to other solutions on the market, this new suspension architecture offers numerous advantages by combining electric motor actuation with a high-precision spool valve hydraulic damper into one fully integrated system. The electric motor ensures that body and wheels can be controlled actively with more force authority and at higher frequencies than traditional adaptive or semi-active systems. This technology optimises maximum cornering performance thanks to the variable and continual distribution of roll stiffness and the actively lowered roll centre (reduced by up to 10mm), to the benefit of the side force acting on the tyres and the balance between over and understeer. The high-frequency control regulates both body motion and wheel movement, thus reducing roll and pitch as well as absorbing road surface irregularities. The active suspension system uses accelerometers and position sensors on each suspension corner and interfaces with the Side Slip Control (SSC) 8.0 and the 6w-CDS sensor. Ferrari’s proprietary control logic, together with the TASV dampers supplied by Multimatic, electronically manages every performance element of the fully active suspension system.
The Ferrari Purosangue’s cabin demanded absolutely meticulous design of both the space and furnishings as well as careful selection of the materials used to offer unprecedented occupant space and comfort for a Ferrari four-seater. The cabin looks and feels like an extremely elegant, sporty lounge. When the doors are opened, a surprisingly generous amount of space is revealed. Equally surprising is the sophisticated luxury of the interior which exudes a sense of both elegance and modernity. Modern design languages harmoniously combine with Ferrari’s signature GT sports car aesthetic. All of the forms are deliberately compact to optimise both the available space and its ergonomics. The Purosangue’s interior architecture is based on the dual cockpit dashboard concept which has been extended and replicated in the back of the car, creating four areas quite distinct in terms of their functionality, volumes, materials and colours. This principle drove the cabin’s composition which develops horizontally and seamlessly between the furnishings, making the space seem larger and keeping the volumes light and dynamic. The driver’s cockpit is inspired by the SF90 Stradale and is almost exactly mirrored on the passenger side. This creates an unparalleled feeling of emotional engagement for the front passenger, aided and abetted by a 10.2″ display that provides all the information required to help them participate in the driving experience. The Purosangue features the entirely digital interface already adopted for the rest of the range. The wraparound forms converge towards the centre embracing the occupants and, through the dialogue between the upholstered volumes and the functional technical areas, underscore the dual cockpit concept both at the front and at the rear. Comfort-related controls are located on a hideaway rotary interface in the central section of the dash, and the rear passengers have access to the same functions via a second rotary interface.
