Will Ferrari build a crossover or won’t it? It’s a question that has been asked more and more over the past few weeks, as rumours of the Maranello brand’s apparent development of a high-riding “F16X” gather pace.
And now Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, who once famously said he would “deserve to be shot” should the Italian automaker build an SUV under his guidance, has attempted to provide some clarity.
“I would deserve to be shot, if we didn’t allow Ferrari engineers to re-invent the vehicle to have some utilitarian [features]; to travel through uncharted territory,” Marchionne said on a conference call with analysts, according to Business Insider.
“It will probably happen, but it will happen Ferrari style,” he added.
Marchionne was then asked whether the automaker would follow the example set by Porsche, which faced initial criticism for adding the Cayenne to its range, before the SUV became extremely successful.
“Hell no. We couldn’t. That would be obscene. I’m terrified of losing our exclusivity,” he said.
According to Automotive News, Marchionne added that if Ferrari did eventually build anything even approaching a crossover, its claim to fame wouldn’t be “being able to climb rocks”.
“Whatever it is, it will be of the same calibre as anything else we’ve done,” he said.
