What engine and price range should Ferrari offer Purosangue in the US?

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MARKETING
Yes, it's happening,-Ferrari SUV


I know the cringing that the true believers, the Ferraristis, cognoscenti, tifosi et al did when they heard Ferrari was going to make an SUV
Say it ain't so Joe.
But let's look at it from a mercantile aspect. Carmaking is a balance between building what you want to build and building what the audience out there wants.
In the US the buying audience has walked away from two door convertibles (except for Camaros and Mustangs) walked away from four door sedans and two door four seater coupes
But pickup trucks? Gimme more. SUVs. Luv'em.
Then too, consider if you will the profile of what I would say is the average new Ferrari buyer. He's a lawyer or architect, heads up his own firm, can buy a low slung mid-engined Ferrari if he wants.
But he has a wife who is so-so about low slung sports cars, and he has two kids. And they like to go to the ski cabin they got up at Lake Arrowhead.
So as much as he likes Ferraris he doesn't want to take a sports car version up there (would chains even fit) and there's road clearance to worry about especially if the cabin is on a dirt road.
So now that the company he likes most has the same engineers who work on race cars and on sports cars apply their talents to an SUV and it will be built in the same factory and be tested by the same drivers, why not? And it will carry that prancing horse badge which will make it worth more as a collector's item compared to say your Cadillac SUV.
And then there's time--he works 70, 80 hours a week, not much time to galivant around in a sports car, but if he can drive a Ferrari SUV he can still drive it to work for those special occasions.
Porsche fans went through this with the Cayenne. Oh, noooo, the true believers said. Hey they sold 500,000 of them. The profit from those enabled a lot more sports cars to be designed engineers and built.
And as improbable a rival as Lamborghini has done it with the Uris. Don't have a total sales figure but it's a moneymaker since it piggybacks on Audi technology.
And even Aston Martin has an SUV.--the DB707 Yes. 707 hp.V8 193 mph.
So it's about time Ferrari had one. They need it out fast to catch the last wave of pure internal combustion cars. Ultimate would be a V12. Second choice for me would be a twin turbo V8 with an electric motor assisting making it a hybrid. Third choice for me--but the best for them long range--is the all electric. That's because some European countries are already scheming to block internal combustion engines from some areas. At least a hybrid could switch to all electric to get through that zone. If the Purosangue ()temporary name not approved yet) comes out with a V12, perhaps the last of the Ferrari V12s,it will be celebrated as the best of the last.
Just so you know I am not an alarmist imagining a threat to high performance cars, I was reading about the new Mercedes sport car, an AMG, and they are dithering whether to offer it in the US with a V8 as in Europe or a four. Imagine--a car over $100.000 with a four! That's because of new CAFE standards in the US. The 2023 Mercedes-AMG C43 has an innovative, turbocharged inline-four with hybrid assist that makes 402 horsepower. The C43 will eventually be surpassed in terms of performance by a new C63, but even that will have a four! So the windpw is closing fast on how long Ferrari will be able to offer V12 or V8. I don't even want to mention a four in connection with the hallowed name Ferrari.
Thus I think a V12 should be first to make the name for the car. Trust me, it will be back ordered immediately. And then a V8, maybe twin turbo with an electric assist (a hybrid) .And then an all electric by say 2030.

Now about speed potential . I have read predictions of over 185 mph. I don't think, considering the height off the road, it is safe to talk about these speeds in a car whose center of gravity is going to be a good foot above the average mid-engined Ferrari. If they talk too much about speeds like that , you know the do-gooders are going to get speed limiters legislated in (like they once limited how high speedometers can read).That would be waving a red flag at the eco-weenies to brag they have SUVs that can go nearly 200 mph ( Aston claims a top speed of 193 mph, for the U.S. model )
Lastly I have heard crazy predictions about projected Purosangue prices. Like over $300,000. Though Rolls has the Cullinan even higher at $348,500, I can't imagine why Ferrari needs to go that high--it will be profitable at just itopping the Lambo Urus $225,500 or Aston's $239,086). What Ferrari needs to do is get some Purosangue V12s sold in the U.S. ASAP before the V12s are illegal to import, then go to V8 hybrids as a fallback position. .
I think they should be happy with that. And a key thing is they will expand the market into new first time buyers that never considered a Ferrari before, who in the past were franly intimidated by the low slung jobs and wondering if owning one would be too "boy toy" for their image? .
So Ferrari fans, grin and bear it. An SUV is good for the brand. And I bet when your neighbor gets one, you will be the first who wants a ride in it up to the ski cabin...
Any opinions?



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