Kiwi thoroughbred
Ferrari brings its Purosangue grand tour ( and 50 international journalists) to New Zealand
What comes to mind when you think “Ferrari V12” and “grand tour”? Probably a howling exhaust note bouncing off Italian Alps as you take the long way to a very long lunch.
Here’s Ferrari’s version of the same: bring a fleet of cars from Modena to New Zealand, inviting 50 international journalists to drive them 3000km from Auckland to Te Anau. Who’d have thought Italians could come up with the ultimate Kiwi summer road trip?
In fact, Ferrari has been doing media grand tours since the late1990s, inviting journalists on big trips to interesting places in exotic cars: Russia ( 1997), China ( 2004), South/ North America ( 2006), India ( 2008).
This is its first new one for 15 years and make no mistake, it’s a big deal: more than a year in the planning, five cars and a fleet of support vehicles. All five cars do five separate legs, with the 50 journalists flying in and out to tagteam at various locations.
Ah yes, the cars. All left- hand drive examples of the Purosangue, Ferrari’s controversial new fivedoor, four- wheel drive supercar. It’s controversial because it’s kind of an SUV, with all that, what do you call it, “practicality” ( a 473- litre boot!) and increased ground clearance.
Ferrari argues that increased clearance is to make it better as an everyday driver and since it’s not designed to go off- road, it’s not an SUV ( but, ahem, lots of city SUVs aren’t off- roaders either).
More to the point, while it’s a wagon on top, it’s pure Ferrari GT underneath. The company could have made this a plug- in hybrid to soften it up a bit, but you get the feeling it’s making a point here: Purosangue boasts a 6.5- litre V12 that’s derived from the 812 ( tuned for a bit more low- down torque), mounted far enough back under the bonnet to make this a midengined machine.
The complicated AWD system is similar to that used in the GT4Lusso shooting brake, which the Purosangue ostensibly replaces: there are two separate gearboxes, the main one at the back and a power transfer unit ( PTU) at the front, which helps achieve 49/ 51 weight distribution. The PTU is for low- speed traction and stability, because at higher speeds ( above fourth gear for the rear- mounted transmission) it disengages and the Purosangue becomes RWD.
The adaptive suspension is next-level, with special dampers that each have their own electric motor, with a 48- volt power supply. So it’s truly active and removes the need for any additional anti- roll features; it’s probably the most sophisticated suspension system fitted to any production car. The four- wheel steer is a development of that used in the 812 Competizione.
The back doors are rear- hinged, which Ferrari executives on the event say are partly for packaging because they allow a shorter wheelbase, and partly for “theatre”. We’re gonna say the second thing is the main thing.
The rear seats truly are comfortable and relatively spacious for adult passengers. You can go four- up in this supercar for sure. But where to?
Oh that’s right, the NZ Grand Tour. We joined in on the second leg — the only Kiwi participants.
For the international guests, it’s as much about the locations and roads as the car, of course. Our bit starts at the incredible Kinloch Manor near Taupo ¯ , designed around the concept of a 21stcentury Scottish castle.
It’s a rest day for the international travellers in our group, who have come from Germany, Switzerland, Japan and the Philippines . But just a nice day for us.
Starting the next morning, the