An SUV will be the gateway "drug" that will lead to a new resurgence in the Ferrari market. Porsche has been killing it since their SUV came out, not just in numbers either, they've been making some great performance cars with all the extra r&d money. I can get behind that for Ferrari.
Agree. There are so many positives to this. I see no negatives other than you don't like the car. Well, then don't buy it. Just buy what you like.
I dont like the idea. But since i have 0 power over it, i hope it will at least bring a ton of $$ that they will invest in making more extreme road cars. Either more super limited cars (Like the F60/JF50/Sergio) or more different level of their Stradale/Speciale range (like porsche does with GT3/GT3RS).
The above is true ...... Didn't Porsche have a few years where their SUV/Cayenne sold more units than their cars ? If they can keep the price in the $100-150 K range that might get them in the door and .....set the hook.
It would be great if it was a 7 passenger SUV. That would mean about $25000 in cup holders alone! My suggestion on the name has always been the Montezemolo but I think the designation should be f377 for 3 liter 7 passengers 7 cup holders.
Small problem, most dealers have the vehicles on the lot. Wife spots one, drives a demo and says "I want this one ...... today" "Sorry you have to order it, and wait a year or two to get it" Not going to work for the wife Ferrari SUV plant in the USA, probably not going to happen.
Call it the Ferrari SM for Sergio Marchionne or perhaps better the S&M? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Porsche has shown it's entirely possible to build SUV, and variants of these, without harming the brand. Demand for the 911R easily matched the stampede for the tdf. And they're still at it with the new drop dead gorgeous GT3 RS. The only difference - and it's considerable - are the price points. A big US Ferrari dealer I visited recently said the Lusso is moving slowly. The issue in his opinion was the price point versus......Porsche. Porsche now have the Turismo. A fully loaded turbo version will come in here around 140K tops? What's the cost of a fully loaded Lusso? Don't get me wrong, I love the Lusso but I couldn't buy one as my daily driver. Too much car for daily battle. Can Ferrari build an SUV, and still be true to the brand? Absolutely. It must be possible technically. And I'm sure it would be extremely desirable. But the commercial proxy of Porsche is not relevant. Ferrari's SUV would be easily twice the price and sales would be a fraction too.
When Porsche entered the SUV market, they over-engineered the best damn SUV imaginable. The Ferrari SUV as described won't even check basic boxes like cargo space, towing capacity, ruggedness or likely even reliability. They might remember the cup holder, maybe. Ferrari wouldn't appear to intend to build a true SUV and take the heat for the obvious divergence in styling this would require to do it right. The artist conception looks more like a slightly elevated, four door FF. It'll hold an extra grocery bag or two and manage 6" snow drifts instead of 4" perhaps. It'll be nothing more than a status symbol for the wife. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
I think they are if they blow this opportunity. Here's why: Lamborghini is much further along. Lamborghini's SUV is tired and true technology, already developed in other models. So to get to that level of reliability, Ferrari will have to wait another year before they can crank them out but Lambo is ready now. So, in order to blunt Lambo, Ferrari could show their prototype here and there on the Peninsula--the Quail, Concorso, Pebble, ,maybe in a private tent that you can only get into if you have a copy of your current Ferrari registration. What they should aim for is for folk to cancel their Lamborghini SUV purchase and wait on the Ferrari SUV. Most important is to have it at their VIO building at Pebble--I bet they could take 100 orders.
Ferrari's chief executive told investors Wednesday that the luxury sports car maker will look at building a crossover utility vehicle, but promised any model it produces would be unique and not compromise the brand's exclusivity. CEO Sergio Marchionne has in the past colorfully disavowed Ferrari entering the utility vehicle segment. During the 90-minute investor call, analysts, one after the other, cautioned Marchionne about tarnishing the Ferrari name. Ferrari CEO opens the door on building utility vehicle - ABC News Sad. Just sad.
I think they would do much better targeting the "low" end sports car market. Build a two seater in the $100-150 K range. An entry level car, say 400-500 hp, 3000 lbs or less, with a 6 SPEED MANUAL option. Drop the wait time to 30-90 days for delivery. Seems it would be easier to ramp up production of a vehicle like this in the near future. An SUV with 4 doors will take the current engineers years to figure out the 4 door engineering, and endless bottles of red wine
In my humble opinion, Ferrari will launch an SUV only for the sake of profit and the Chinese/Middle East markets. The fact that Porsche and Lamborghini also made SUVs is irrelevant. They were successful? Well, good for them. People turned to Ferrari precisely because they consistently offered things no other brand could offer. According to this line of reasoning, Ferrari could even have beneffited from both brands deviating from their essence. If Ferrari now decides to offer exactly the same as other brands, and instead of setting the pace just follows the trend...then what? I'm guessing other brands who stay true to their essence may benefit from this, as Ferrari did in the past. Profit nonetheless will come, mainly from people who buy Ferrari has a social class statement. Posers I believe is the term. And even those will only stick around as long as the brand isn't overly mass produced and the price doesn't drop below a certain point (status). Long time owners and true car enthusiasts will move on and buy something else. I know I will and I won't be alone. Seriously, is a proper rear wheel drive, petrol burning car all that much to ask from an exclusive, sports and luxury brand that is oriented to satisfy the six or seven digit buyer? I won't be caught dead driving a hybrid SUV Ferrari. It offends me. I couldn't possibly care less about such a product and I believe virtually no one in North America and Europe (Ferrari's core business) asked for this, or lobbied for this. Oh well... I'll keep taking care of my naturally aspirated Ferraris as if they were my children made from porcelain and whenever I feel like buying a new super sportscar, it regrets me to say this, I'll overlook Ferrari and go straight to the Lamborghini or McLaren dealer. But what the heck, what do I matter? I'm sure Ferrari has made an extensive analysis of this, and they know guys like me won't buy again. It's a calculated loss. It's the art of compromise: opening new markets will bring a ton of new clients, at the expense of long time buyers and petrolhead owners. The former will probably outweigh the latter 5 or 10 to 1, so it's all good. Kind regards, Nuno.
I whined like a banshee when Porsche brought out the Cayenne. "That's not a Porsche . . it's a truck" and so on and so on. Of course, the fact is it guaranteed Porsche's survival. Let's face it, we're an SUV society on every level of the automotive hierarchy. Love them or loathe them, every car company now requires an SUV. In fact, most mainstream car companies now must have at least three SUV's in their lineup.
Wait !..................... I thought the FF was an SUV.................. They introduced the car in the snow (off road) and it is four-wheel drive. Seats four, and is set up to haul sports equipment. That's more "SUV" than many other so called "SUV" cars.
Regardless of what we or Ferrari call it, it will not be a true SUV like the Cayenne. My bet is its going to be like a lifted FF. What we currently call a cross-over, but Ferrari will never call it that. Its not going to be about cargo room. its going to fill the niche the FF was intended to fill, all weather sport vehicle with enough room for two couples to go skiing. It will be about making a statement not about practicality.
It will be very interesting to see what price point it comes in at Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Agree I predict 10 years of profits then the **** hits the fan as Ferrari is another corporate car company, just more money. More status than the driving experience. New money status. More reporting on the crossover: Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne Confirms Supercar Maker's Crossover Plans - The Drive
Agreed with the analogy to Porsche. Regarding price point- this precisely shows why a car like the FF/ GTC4 is so difficult because a car like this ends up being less and less about capturing the imagination of those who desire the emotion and romance of a Ferrari and relies more on rational and logical arguments about owning such a vehicle. A Ferrari is not really a rational nor logical thing. Did anyone talk about price point relative to a 911 turbo with a 488? I'm sure the FUV will be a big success because the brand is so strong. I think its probably the right business move. But as Ferrarista, I find it upsetting. To me a Ferrari is about emotion.