Purists will be reaching for the smelling salts and clutching their pearls when Ferrari does the unthinkable and introduces an SUV wearing the vaunted Prancing Horse badge.
To date, we’ve seen shadowy spy shots and camouflaged prototypes — but these social media posts seem to show our clearest view yet of the Maranello mauler.
Appearing on Instagram approximately 24 hours ago on an account tied to a foreign-language auto-enthusiast site, the first photo shows the new Ferrari from its driver-side three-quarter angle, with headlights reminiscent of what is found on the Ferrari Roma.
Its hood wraps around the fenders like a clamshell, going so far as to actually intrude on the large black wheel arches that are commonly found on high(er)-riding crossover-style vehicles.
A picture of the Purosangue’s rear, posted to Instagram by the same account, suggests your typical Ferrari theatre, including a quartet of exhaust trumpets, which look real and not like simple window dressing as found on many other vehicles these days.
Chunky black plastic resides between that pair of sewer cannons, appended by the faintest suggestion of a rear diffuser thanks to a couple of vertical nubs below the license plate area.
Of course, what the Ferrari tradizionalisti conveniently overlook when crying into their pasta about a Ferrari SUV is there’s an argument to be made that the company already dipped a toe into this water with the all-wheel-drive FF over a decade ago.
Sure, that car was low-slung and presented as a grand touring successor to the 612 Scaglietti, but its unmistakable shooting-brake body style and new use of power at all four wheels put it in a different class altogether. This argument is countered by the fact the FF – and follow-up GTC4Lusso – had two doors and a low ride height.
What will power the Purosangue? Speculation runs the gamut from a turbocharged V8 to hybrid V12, though it’s a safe bet to assume at least some trims of this crossover will have some level of electrification. Ferrari has said it plans to officially debut the Purosangue some time this calendar year.
Keyword: Wild Horses: Ferrari's upcoming SUV leaked in factory photos