The Ferrari Purosangue will be something different — a crossover, no less — for the company, but it will come with something familiar: a V12 engine.
Overnight the luxury sports car maker announced on social media that its “game-changing new model” due later this will be fitted with a 12-cylinder engine.
According to the automaker “the V12 has always been an intrinsic part of Ferrari DNA”. It says the engine configuration symbolises the company’s “relentless quest for new heights of performance and pure driving emotion”.
While the press release doesn’t explicitly state the V12 will be used in the crossover, instead says it will be “heart of a thoroughbred”, a not-so-subtle hint at the Purosangue, which is Italian for thoroughbred.
Official Purosangue teaser
Later CEO Benedetto Vigna confirmed the obvious to Reuters.
He said the company “tested several options, [but] it was clear that the V12, for the performance and driving experience it could provide, was the right option for the market”.
CarExpert understands the V12 will be naturally-aspirated, and the Purosangue will be available with other drivetrain options.
Earlier this year the company said it will manage the “exclusivity” of its first crossover. The company’s first series production four-door vehicle will seat up to four passengers, and is based on a new front mid-engine architecture.
Ferrari says the platform has a low centre of gravity as the engine is mounted low and behind the front axle. A dual-clutch transmission is located at the rear to improve weight balance.
Purosangue leak 
Employing a V12 in Ferrari’s biggest and heaviest car runs counter to current trends and, indeed, the automaker’s recent releases, which have favoured smaller displacement engines with fewer cylinders to improve fuel economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
One prominent example of this is the 296 GTB, which has a 610kW plug-in hybrid drivetrain that pairs a 488kW/740Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 with a 122kW/315Nm electric motor and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
While it’s able to complete the 0-100km/h dash in 2.9 seconds in hybrid mode, it’s also capable of driving up 25km in EV mode.
The Purosangue’s platform is understood to support both hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains.
