New Ferrari Purosangue HS review: an SUV should not be this agile

Verdict

The Ferrari Purosangue is already the best handling and most dynamic of the super-SUVs, yet the new Handling Speciale pack makes it even more engaging and rewarding. This has been achieved by recalibrating its sophisticated and supremely capable active dampers, making it even more agile. You also get faster gearshifts and more of the sound of the V12 comes through to the cockpit. Although the pack is a £16,450 option, the base Purosangue is over £313,000 and most are specced up, so there seems little reason not to tick the box.

There were sceptics when the Purosangue was launched three years ago. Ferrari said it wasn’t an SUV, even though it was a jacked up 4x4 with four seats, four doors and a tailgate. Instead, the brand called it a sports GT and pointed out typical Ferrari features such as the front-mid-mounted V12 engine and combined rear axle and gearbox that helped give a sports car-like weight distribution of 49/51 per cent front/rear. We counted ourselves among the doubters… until we drove it, at which point we had to concede that it handled better than every other super-SUV. 

A large part of the Purosangue’s dynamic ability comes courtesy of its active suspension. The dampers developed by Multimatic are complex and sophisticated (and hugely expensive) and allowed Ferrari’s engineers to control the mass of the circa 2.2 tonne Purosangue with exceptional fidelity, delivering comfort and remarkably willing handling. Now Ferrari has ramped things up with the Purosangue HS, standing for Handling Speciale. 

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Ferrari says that it’s not a new model, merely a configuration, despite the fact that it comes with a number of visual signifiers including unique carbon fibre side shields, diamond-turned alloys and, at the rear, matt black tailpipes and prancing horse badge. More of the V12’s sound gets through the cockpit, too, but the key part of the pack is the retune of the dampers to enhance agility. 

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In the regular car, the handling gets sportier the further you turn up the manettino – the drive mode selector – with the options being Wet, Comfort, Sport, Race and ESC off. To scale the increase in sportiness, Comfort in the Purosangue HS is the same as Sport in the regular model, and body movements are reduced by 10 per cent. 

Swing open the door, step over the Handling Speciale sill plate and you’re in a luxurious cockpit with four identical-looking bucket seats – the rear transaxle precludes a middle rear seat. You sit high but not as high as you do in, say, an Aston Martin DBX, and there’s a compact, but not cramped, feel. Press the start button and the 6.5-litre, naturally aspirated V12 starts with a rich, purposeful growl. Mechanically, the Purosangue HS is identical to the original, so the engine revs to 8,250rpm and makes a monster 715bhp, delivered to a four-wheel-drive system that favours the rear wheels. There’s independent rear steering, too, and huge tyres; 255/35 R22 up front and 315/30 R23 at the back. 

This won’t be a definitive test, because we’re driving on the generally good surfaces of the Bolocco test track in northern Italy, so we won’t be able to say for sure if the ride has suffered. On the other hand, we will get to see how the dynamics stack up, pushing on around a test track which twists and turns and dips and dives like an English B-road, only without the potholes. It’s deceptive in places, so to get us up to speed we’ll be led round by another Purosangue piloted by a test driver. 

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At a gentle pace, it’s already obvious that the Purosangue is no regular SUV. The steering has a satisfying heft and slack-free directness, while the car itself feels roll-free and translates wheel inputs into precision turns. Into dips and over mild crests it all feels reassuringly calm and composed, like it’s a smaller, lighter car. It can’t quite defy physics; over a sharp crest and turn, the mass is still rising; the Purosangue ahead lifts an inside front wheel and I feel my car do the same. There’s a demanding downhill compression and turn combo that is similarly revealing of the car’s mass, though even as the pace picks up and the cabin fills with the appealing roar of the magnificent V12, the Purosangue always nails the apex. 

Shift up to Sport mode and you can sense the shackles of the stability control loosening a little; into tighter turns there’s a hint of push at the front, before the super smart dampers have the car pivoting to meet the request. There’s more body movement too, and hard on the power you can feel the rear adopt an attitude that suggests that when you go to Race mode there’ll be even more agility and options. 

And so it proves. Within a few corners, the rear is gently power-sliding, the car poised, comfortable with it. Ease off the gas and equilibrium returns, smoothly. Or, ask more of the V12 and an easily held few degrees of oversteer is there for the taking, complete with a rousing bellow from the V12. It doesn’t feel like you’re asking too much of the car; it rotates and finds its dynamic balance without going through wince-inducing understeer (although the tread of the hard-working, right-front tyre was rather saw-toothed after the session). 

It’s at this point you have to remind yourself you’re in a 2.2-tonne, four-door, four-seater, and to concede that it really is more sports GT than SUV. The Handling Speciale is an expensive option at £16,450, but not when the base car costs £313,000. We’ve not been able to compare the ride with the standard model but if you’re looking at a Purosangue and you love driving, it feels like a no-brainer.