Ferrari could close orders for Purosangue after demand 'exploded'

MARANELLO, Italy -- Ferrari could soon close the order book for its first four-door production model, the Purosangue, because of overwhelming demand, executives said.

"We risk not being able to satisfy demand, and maybe we will need to close the order intake very soon," Ferrari’s chief commercial and marketing officer, Enrico Galliera, said at a media preview of the Purosangue at company headquarters in here on Sept. 8.

Galliera declined to say how many pre-orders Ferrari had received ahead of the Purosangue’s public debut on Tuesday, when orders officially open. 

He said that demand for the 390,000 euro Purosangue went beyond Ferrari’s expectations. Limited-edition models are normally sold out before they are publicly unveiled, but those models have total runs of a few hundred units rather than the thousands a year planned for the Purosangue.

To protect the exclusivity of the brand as well as sales of its core range of coupes, roadsters and convertibles, the company will cap Purosangue output at no more than 20 percent of annual production. Ferrari’s installed capacity is about 15,000 units, so annual Purosangue output could be about 3,000 units a year.

A normal life cycle at Ferrari is four to five years, Galliera said, meaning that total production of the Purosangue could range between 12,000 and 15,000 units.

Galliera said that Ferrari began receiving a significant number of pre-orders in September 2018, when the company announced that the Purosangue was going into production.

But last May, when it announced that the Purosangue was going to have a V-12 engine, pre-orders "exploded,” Galliera said.

Ferrari expected that the Purosangue would attract huge demand, and decided to cap its production to avoid being driven by a single model. SUVs have become best-sellers at rivals such as Aston Martin, Bentley and Lamborghini.

"We are committed to our clients and, despite the demand, we will keep control of the volume, something that is consistent with our DNA, with our founder mission, which is to remain extremely exclusive. And the only way to remain exclusive is to control demand and the offer," Galliera said.

He declined to say how many Purosangue orders are coming from clients new to Ferrari, but confirmed that existing customers will receive their cars first.

The Purosangue is attracting a high number of pre-orders from buyers new to Ferrari, Galliera said, because "it is less intimidating, you can drive with the family, with the kids, with the friends, so it is opening a great opportunity for Ferrari."

But they will have to wait longer for their Purosangue.

"Every (Ferrari owner) wants to have a Purosangue, and we need to reward them, as they are the ones that made Ferrari what it is today," Galliera said.