Ferrari boss: SUV-like vehicle will "probably happen"

Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne has announced that the Italian supercar maker will "reinvent the concept of a vehicle that has some utilitarian features", suggesting recent rumours of a Ferrari SUV are true. 

During the company’s 2017 Q2 press conference on July 2, Marchionne stated: “I think that if we allow the Ferrari engineers to reinvent the concept of a vehicle that has some utilitarian features, I think the answer is, it will probably happen, but it will happen Ferrari style. And Ferrari has been known historically for being able to redefine and define automotive segments. But I don’t want it to be a UV – I want it to be what Ferrari thinks is appropriate. But no decision has been made yet.”

However, despite Marchionne's comments, a Ferrari spokesman said: "With reference to recent speculation in the international press, Ferrari will not be launching an SUV."

It was reported in July that the long-rumoured Ferari SUV was still on the cards. Auto analyst Max Warburton claimed the future model is being called an FUV (Ferrari Utility Vehicle) and does not have visible rear doors.

Last month, Ferrari’s commercial boss Enrico Galliera told Autocar UK: “We are not producing an SUV, because an SUV is not a sports car – it can be fast, but it’s not a sports car. We are not producing a four-door because, while a four-door can be fast, it’s not a sports car.”

He added: “Ferrari has to remain consistent, doing what we know to do, which is delivering cars that are able to deliver emotion. Sports cars.”

However, Warburton claimed it is a “question of semantics”, stating that while Ferrari management continues to tell investors that it will not build an SUV or a model with four doors, the rear doors will not be visible and will instead “use a clever hidden arrangement”.

The model, expected to launch in 2021 and cost about £250,000 (Rs 2.46 crore), would rival cars such as the Lamborghini Urus, Rols-Royce Cullinan and Aston Martin DBX.

Warburton estimates that 2,000 to 3,000 units would be sold per year.

While Ferrari continues to be evasive on the topic, a more practical model has huge potential for the Italian brand, given the trend for high-riding vehicles and the popularity of ultra-luxury SUVs worldwide, and particularly in the growing Chinese market.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview to Autocar India's Shapur Kotwal, Enrico Galliera, chief marketing and commercial officer of Ferrari, said: "One of the reasons for the success of Ferrari is that we have been able to remain consistent with our history. Our 812, for example, has a low-slung driving position [slouches right down in the chair to demonstrate it, hands and feet stretched out]. This is the driving position of a sportscar. When you drive an SUV, you sit like you are driving a truck; that’s my personal opinion. It can be a very fast truck, but the experience of driving it is very different from driving a sportscar. The GTC4Lusso, which is a shooting brake, is our idea of an SUV. A Ferrari cannot be a car that is far off the ground and roll like a ship. No. So, though our future execution will be different, we will be consistent with our history. "

Competitors Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin are already far into development of their respective SUVs, while Bentley’s Bentayga accounts for a significant portion of its sales.