I recently spent a few days in a Ferrari Purosangue, and while a full review is on the way we need to take a minute to talk about the vehicle\u2019s engine. It\u2019s a naturally-aspirated 6.5 liter V12, which is pretty unique in itself, and the performance is off the charts.<\/p>\n
Ferrari has managed to get a staggering 715 horsepower out of the \u201cF140IA V12.\u201d Which is an incredible achievement. To get the full 715 horsepower, you\u2019ll need to get close to the vehicle\u2019s redline, which comes in at 8,250 RPM. This is all in an SUV, which also boasts 528 lb-ft of torque and could theoretically haul a bit. There are no towing specs, and there is no towbar, because this isn\u2019t exactly an SUV, it\u2019s a \u201cFUV.\u201d And stallions don\u2019t pull carts or something.<\/p>\n
The engine itself is in the same family as, and actually a direct descendent of, the F140 that debuted in the Enzo way back in 2002. The cylinder heads also come straight from the 812 Competitzione, and the fuel system draws inspiration from Ferrari\u2019s F1 cars. So the engine will adjust its timing on the fly based on the octane rating of whatever you\u2019re putting in the tank.<\/p>\n
As impressive as these things are, they\u2019re all what you would expect from a Ferrari.\u00a0 But does the engine live up to the billing when you drop it in something that could be considered a bit unconventional for the legendary Italian brand?<\/p>\n
I can sit here and write down specs all day, but what does the V12 actually give you? It can launch the SUV it sits in front of from 0-60 in around 3.5 seconds. But its contribution is more than just a reading on a stopwatch.<\/p>\n
The Purosangue\u2019s 3.5 is so much more than an electric vehicle\u2019s equally fast 0-60 time<\/a>, and that\u2019s all down to the Ferrari V12 under the hood. You\u2019re not just dealing with G-forces, you\u2019re at the center of a visceral experience that hits most of your senses.<\/p>\n First, there\u2019s the noise. The natural aspiration, coupled with the exhaust tuning, treats you to a symphony every time you get your foot down. While I did observe the speed limit, it requires a lot of self discipline to stick to 30 in town when you\u2019re aware of what you\u2019ll hear if you don\u2019t lift.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the feedback. While Ferrari has built the F140IA V12 with a perfect 65-degree V-angle to ensure smoothness, there is still some vibration and feedback from the high volume of fuel exploding right in front of you. This isn\u2019t a bad thing, it scratches a primal itch and lets you know you\u2019re alive. Couple it with the stiffer \u201csport\u201d setting of the suspension and you actually feel like you\u2019re driving something powerful. You can\u2019t fake any of this, and many manufacturers have spent fortunes trying.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to find a bit of asphalt where you can safely get the most out of the Purosangue, in all honesty you probably need track access to get near its limits without violating a law or two. And that\u2019s all down to what\u2019s under the hood. Ferrari is a brand that\u2019s all about passion, a love of motor vehicles, and performance. Under the hood, the Purosangue is every bit of that.<\/p>\n It’ll be interesting to see what Ferrari does with the Luce<\/a>, because filling that V12 sized gap will be a monumental task for the brand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I recently spent a few days in a Ferrari Purosangue, and while a full review is on the way we … <\/p>\n