Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Ferrari holds the brakes on SUV trend

Tokyo — “Don’t expect an SUV from Ferrari,” said Dieter Knechtel, the CEO of Ferrari’s operations in the Far and Middle East.

Tokyo — “Don’t expect an SUV from Ferrari,” said Dieter Knechtel, the CEO of Ferrari’s operations in the Far and Middle East.

It’s a statement that has been repeated by the Italian sports car brand’s upper management many times, but one that has become increasingly relevant with regards to the latest automobile trend.

SUVs, or sport utility vehicles, are becoming very popular. In the United States, they’ve already exceeded sales of the “traditional” automobile type, the four-door sedan. Even in Singapore it’s becoming close, with SUV sales in the first quarter of this year reaching 33 per cent of vehicles sold, compared to 39 per cent for sedans.

SUV sales have boomed as new models have been added by car brands at both ends of the price scale.

Affordable compact SUVs, like Honda’s HR-V, are key drivers of the trend, but even the ultra luxury segment has jumped into the fray. Rolls-Royce’s next model will be an SUV, while Bentley launched its Bentayga, described by the company as “the most powerful, the most luxurious, the most exclusive and the fastest SUV in the world” in Singapore in last month.

Ferrari’s traditional rivals are little different. Porsche entered early in 2002 with its Cayenne model, a model widely credited with saving the German brand from financial ruin.

More recently, it launched a smaller SUV, the Macan, in 2015, which has become the brand’s most popular model. Both SUVs made up 68 per cent of Porsche’s unit sales of 225,121 last year. Italian competitor Lamborghini will also make an SUV, dubbed the Urus.

Ferrari has remained unique in zealously keeping high performance and sporting attributes as part of its DNA. Founder Enzo Ferrari first started it in 1929 as a dedicated racing team, and only began selling road cars 10 years later, to fund its track pursuits. It has never officially made a four-door car, let alone a high-riding, heavy SUV.

But it won’t make an SUV because it has another, if no less important purpose nowadays: To please its buyers while retaining its most valuable asset — a strong brand heritage. In 2014, it was named the most powerful brand in the world, though not necessarily the most valuable.

Like Rolls-Royce, Ferrari has no intention to go mainstream, the better to preserve the uniqueness of the products. It had record sale and profits in 2015, although it sold only 7,664 cars. This year it’s expected to sell 7,900.

“I believe a Ferrari SUV would not be well received by our very loyal, core customer group because it’s not in line with the DNA of Ferrari, our entire philosophy. The SUV has been used by most our competitors with the aim of selling more to the mass market. And we don’t do that, so why should we release a car just to sell more and jeopardise our philosophy?” asked Dieter.

That doesn’t mean the Italian company is unaccommodating or inflexible in its approach, as its founder was sometimes infamous for.

ENTER THE LUSSO

Dieter was speaking at the Asian debut of Ferrari’s latest model, the GTC4 Lusso. With four-wheel drive, room for four adults, a hatch back and relatively generous boot space of 450 litres, the GTC4 Lusso, like the Ferrari FF it replaces, is the most practical model in the brand’s stable.

As a shooting brake, or wagon, the FF was the least popular Ferrari model, as, Dieter admitted, “not a car for everyone, it was polarising” but those who opted for it drove it much more often as a daily driver, with four occupants. At 45 years old, they were also, on average, 10 years younger than the normal Ferrari buyer.

“It’s for customers who seek high performance in a car that is very versatile, that can be used every day, and in extreme situations. And we have the expectation that the Lusso will become more successful than the FF simply because we have listened to the customers and their feedback.”

Some 90 per cent of the parts on the GTC4 Lusso are different, and it also incorporates a new four-wheel steering system in addition to four-wheel drive “for performance in more extreme weather conditions”. The 6.3-litre V12 engine makes 690hp, the car has a 0-100kmh time of 3.4s with a top speed of 335kmh.

Practicality, accessible performance and a younger customer base are product characteristics almost identical to a high-performance, luxury SUV. Which means that Ferrari has acknowledged market demand, at least obliquely and in typical Ferrari fashion, in its own way.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.