VIDEO: 2023 Ferrari Purosangue walkaround review, sales paused on $728k SUV!

Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari has had to pause orders of its $728,000 Purosangue – that it is emphatically not calling an SUV.

“It’s the first time in Ferrari history that a non-limited car has stopped taking orders before delivery has begun”, chief marketing and commercial officer Ferrari NV, Enrico Galliera, told Wheels.

For those wondering, the Purosangue’s Australian release, and therefore first customer delivers, are expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.

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It may be the case that Ferrari only has capacity to produce enough Purosangues for 20 per cent of total sales, but president Ferrari Far and Middle East, Dieter Knechtel, is adamant the V12 four-seater won’t dilute the brand’s athletic image.

“The Purosangue is not going to be a volume model… we don't want to do as others have done, where other sports car brands then find themselves with a high percentage of SUV sales and intra-brand competition to the sports cars models.

“We don't want to sell more than 20 per cent per year, we want to keep it reasonable and make sure we have an equal distribution of volume across the entire [Ferrari] range.”

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The Australian reveal of the Purosangue occurred at the Universo Ferrari exhibition, alongside the first Aussie spotting of the stunning Daytona SP3.

During the four-door's reveal, Ferrari executives discussed the kind of customer the Purosangue brought in.

There were new names, but overwhelmingly it’s existing customers that want to add the brand’s first ever four-door production vehicle to the stable, so they don’t have to rely on a Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga or Aston Martin DBX for the weekly shop.

Naturally, Ferrari is giving first preference to existing owners, with new customers to be served as production opens up.

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Why no hybrid?

Under the Purosangue’s long, luxurious bonnet is a 6.5-litre petrol V12 derived from the 812 Competizione’s engine, but with a focus on greater mid-range punch rather than outright power.

The result? A meagre 533kW of power at 7750rpm and 716Nm of torque sent to all-four wheels (under 200km/h) via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

But as the world pushes for more electrification, surely the Purosangue was the perfect test-bed for electrification? With the Purosangue’s high ride height and 3018mm wheelbase, packaging batteries would be easier than in the 296 GTB or SF90 PHEVs.

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However, with turbochargers, inverters and batteries, there’s the danger the Purosangue would have been seen as another cookie-cutter luxury SUV, and Ferrari isn’t about that, it says.

“The concept of Purosangue was actually to come up with a product that is a game changer in the long run, because we are having a versatile, larger car that functions or fulfils different purposes for new clients and existing clients”, Knechtel explained.

It seems to have worked, too, given the strength of the order bank. Speaking to Wheels, Galliera outlined two reasons Ferrari chose the V12 in the end.

“Number one because we thought it was perfect for the positioning of the car. And second, because we thought that for our clients, that V12 power was perfect. It was a bet, because the world was moving.

“And the market is telling us that we were right, even more than we expected”, Galliera finished.