When news broke that Ferrari might be working on a high performance SUV, many people became understandably worried. But as this rendering demonstrates, it actually opens up a lot of creative and exciting possibilities.
Codenamed F16X, Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that it is going ahead, at the very beginning of the next decade, with specifics still being decided. A twin-turbo V8 with hybrid technology is likely to power the car, giving it supremacy against Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne.
Naish Chapman’s rendering shown here is dubbed the VTS, or Virtual Terrain Specialist, and is envisioned as a compact SUV in the mould of Porsche Macan dimensions-wise. It gets its name from a sophisticated network of surround-view cameras and satellite navigation that then adjusts damper settings, ride height, throttle and gearbox shift-mapping in accordance with terrain that lies ahead. The five-door hyper-SUV is set to be the brand’s technological flagship in much the same way the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is.
When the new model hits by around 2021, it is expected to add 2000 sales to the present annual cap of 10,000 units. A big push into China is the primary motivation for such a vehicle, where SUV popularity is exploding exponentially by the day. Ferrari will be working hard to ensure that the traditional Ferrari virtues are not lost in the pursuit of a more practical and popular vehicle.
What do you think of Naish‘s Ferrari VTS rendering? Does it make you excited about the prospect of a Ferrari SUV? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.