Yup, Ferrari will start building the Purosangue SUV - sorry, FUV - later this year

So, this is how it ends. The SUV has long since conquered the world, but until now there was one little corner of the globe fighting against the odds, delaying the inevitable: Ferrari. That ends in 2022.

We’re being churlish of course, Ferrari committed to making an SUV years ago and in recent times we’ve seen the Lamborghini Urus, Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Aston Martin DBX all bring varying degrees of success to their respective brands. Heritage be damned, sports and luxury carmakers need cash to survive, one way or another.

A single line in Ferrari’s financial report for 2021 has now confirmed that the Purosangue SUV will enter production this year, with the first deliveries taking place in 2023.

What do we know about it so far? Not a lot, actually. When TG quizzed the late FCA boss Sergio Marchionne on the issue back in 2018, he insisted the then-yet-to-be-named SUV should be called an ‘FUV’; a Ferrari Utility Vehicle.

“It’s whatever Ferrari thinks a utility vehicle ought to look like,” he said at the time. “Look, by definition it’s going to drive like a Ferrari, it has to.”

Fiat Chrysler is now under the stewardship of Michael Manley of course, but the direction he inherited was quite a turnaround given Marchionne had said “you’d have to shoot me” when the idea of a Ferrari SUV had come up in the past.

The financial case for the Purosangue has been clear for some time now, and the company will be hoping to build on a strong year in which it sold 11,155 vehicles; up 22.3 per cent on 2020.

TG has been through the numbers and V8 supercar sales have driven that rise, whereas production of V12s slipped by 16.1 per cent on account of the 812 Superfast being ushered out.

What might the Purosangue do to those figures when early sales have been counted up in 12 months’ time? Predictions below, please.