10 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 14 AUGUST 2019
It is known that the SUV’s
design has been signed off and
the car will employ Ferrari’s
scalable front-mid-engined
architecture, one of two highly
flexible structures that will
underpin Ferrari’s future range.
Both architectures, the
other supporting a traditional
mid-engined layout, are able to
accommodate V6, V8 and V
engines, with or without hybrid
assistance and with a transaxle
dual-clutch automatic gearbox,
rear or all-wheel drive, two,
two-plus-two or four-seat
cabins from variable wheelbase
lengths, coupé, Spider or
Purosangue bodystyles
(Purosangue having also been
used traditionally to describe
the bodystyles of Ferrari’s big
V12 front-engined GTs), and low
or high ground clearances.
From these wide-ranging
parameters the SUV will take
the form of a four-seater with
a length of around five metres,
and its high ground clearance
is likely to be achieved through
height-adjustable suspension
and an anti-roll system to
allow for impressive on-road
dynamics and some off-
road ability. Plug-in hybrid
technology is also set to
feature as pressure grows
to cut emissions, with the
powertrain to be derived from
that of the new SF90 Stradale.
The new supercar, Ferrari’s
first regular series-production
hybrid, mixes a 4.0-litre V
with three electric motors, one
at the rear between the engine
and gearbox and two at the
front to give all-wheel drive. A
version of that system is set to
feature in the Purosangue, yet
it’s more likely to be mated to
a new turbocharged V6 Ferrari
has in development. A range-
topping V12 version is also
considered likely, as Ferrari
remains committed to the
development of V12 engines.
“SF90 is a new product with
so many new innovations on the
car, then we find the elements
to go onto other cars,” said
Leiters, on the technology
transfer from the SF
Stradale to other models. “The
challenge [with the SUV] is a
totally different one. There are
some innovations to go on, but
our organisation has learned
to do innovation,” he added,
in reference to the likelihood
of the Purosangue featuring
innovations of its own.
The Purosangue name is also
u s e d to d e s c r i b e th e fa m i l y of
new GT models Ferrari plans to
launch over the next four years,
with a claimed push towards
versatility and comfort. Among
them will be a replacement for
the GTC4 Lusso, whose own
future doesn’t depend on the
launch of the SUV.
All the Ferrari GT models,
including the SUV, will get
a completely new interior
layout based around what
it calls an ‘eyes on the road,
hands on the street’ approach.
Among the features will be a
new steering wheel design,
new infotainment, a head-up
display, new instruments,
new ways of operating the
cabin controls, rear-seat
entertainment and improved
ingress and egress.
Leiters also detailed some
of the engineering challenges
being faced while Ferrari
develops its first SUV.
“With space, how can we
ensure that there is the right
easy, ergonomic comfort on
board? How to combine the
sporty layout with a more
comfort-orientated design?
What to do with HMI [human
machine interface]? Our HMI is
driver-orientated, but how can
it be more democratic? What
are the comfort features? What
is a Ferrari’s pure DNA on a car
for comfort?
“It’s a challenge, an
opportunity and fun. I like it
very much. Some concepts are
close together, but with cars
like 175 one thing we want to do
is structure the product range
and have something different.”
Leiters said the two new
architectures provided much
greater flexibility between
future Ferrari models.
“We’ve not said there
definitely will be V6s or V12s
b u t we h ave fo r e s e e n i t ,” h e
said. “My job is to give the
company an opportunity for
models. Then they tell us what
they need from a market POV.
“In the function of different
customer requirements, do
we need space? Six or eight
cylinders? A long wheelbase?
So we can offer V6, V8, V12,
front or mid-engined, hybrid
or not, two-wheel drive or
four-wheel drive, 2+0, 2+2 or
four seats; vary the wheelbase
a lot. We’re able to manage
very easily and have a very low
impact doing it.”
Head of design Flavio
Manzoni said the designers had
been working with engineering
right from the start to ensure
optimum proportions for what
is set to be a controversial
model for the brand.
“You start defining the
design of the car in the first
steps,” he said. “In that
defining phase we work
with the engineers. We can
determine the proportions and
the dimensions to have a very
g o o d b a s e to wo r k fr o m. T h a t ’s
the case for the SUV as well.
Many SUVs are derivatives of
other cars. Designers have
many constraints due to the
technical base. In our case, it’s
no compromise.
“If we don’t start together
with engineers, defining
together with the package, it’s
a problem. I praise a lot of the
collaborations when we start a
new project.”
MARK TISSHAW
A replacement for
the GTC4 Lusso is
also due by 2023
FERRARI F 8 TRIBUTO: FIRST RIDE
“T h e i d e a i s to co m b i n e th e
agility of the Pista with the
comfort of the GTB”, says
Ferrari test driver Fabrizio
Toschi on the new F8 Tributo,
the successor to the 488 GTB
as Ferrari’s core mid-engined
supercar.
The F8 Tributo is the latest
Ferrari in a series that can
trace its roots back to the 458
Italia. This version adopts
the most powerful V8 yet
for a mid-engined series-
production Ferrari by using a
Pista-spec 710bhp 3.9-litre
turbo. It can crack 0-62mph in
2.9sec and reach a top speed
of 211mph – and we’ll drive it
before the end of the month.
For now, we join Toschi,
a test driver at Ferrari for
the past 13 years, in the
passenger seat on the roads
in the hills around Maranello
as the F8 receives its final
tweaks and debugging before
delivery after 18 months of
development and testing.
True to the brief, it feels
every bit as quick as the
Pista, yet with that bit more
suppleness in the suspension.
The roads around Maranello,
while fast and curvaceous, are
also surfaced in a way many
British drivers would relate to,
with pockmarks, bumps and
frequently broken surfaces.
Yet the body remains solid
and stable even as Toschi
really pushes on, with the
chassis allowing the bumps
to b e a b s o r b e d w i th o u t
disrupting the body. There’s
an abundance of mechanical
grip, too, and the car simply
refuses to be unsettled no
matter how hard it is pushed.
“There are very bumpy and
twisty roads – we know them
all,” says Toschi. “It’s very,
very important to work on
the open road as it’s how the
customer uses the car.”
The direct responses from
the throttle are as we’ve come
to expect from this V8 from
Ferrari. Indeed, the Tributo
name is meant as a tribute to
the engine. Its pace is such
that the F8 is just one second
a lap slower than the Pista
around Ferrari’s Fiorano
test track, despite its more
‘mainstream’ positioning.
“The Pista still has more
volume, but this has the
comfort of the suspension
and is better for every day,”
explains Toschi. “It’s less
stress on a long trip.”
Any fast car can feel
impressive from the
passenger seat – and the
F8 Tributo is certainly true
to form – but Toschi says
subjective tests around
feel, emotion and driving
pleasure are as important
in the development of a
Ferrari as the pure objective
measurements.
“A subjective test is very
important,” he says. “You can
have the high performance
base but you need the
emotions and feeling; you
need to feel something
special. We understand what
we n e e d to d o to fi n d th a t .”
We l o o k fo r wa r d to te l l i n g
you if they’ve succeeded in
that soon enough. MT
The F8 Tributo has been developed to be compliant on the road but still have impressive track pace
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The high ground clearance is likely
to be achieved through height-
adjustable suspension
a