All Terrain Luxury
Super luxury car makers are racing against each other to develop the most capable and desirable off-roader. It signals a new dawn in the luxury automobile business.
- Sep 2, 2017,
- Updated Sep 6, 2017 11:49 AM IST
Sergio Marchionne, the 65-year-old Chairman and Chief Executive of Italian supercar maker Ferrari, created a flutter last month when he said the company was considering products beyond its traditional sports car to double profits by 2022. The takeaway was obvious. Ferrari was mulling a sports utility vehicle or SUV. Puritans in love with the brand's history of superlative rear wheel-driven sports cars were dismayed. Marchionne was quick to add it would be done in Ferrari's style. What that meant was anybody's guess.
Till a few years ago, this would have been considered a catastrophe for the brand. Today, it elicits just a surprise or a smirk or a resigned nod by old timers at cafes outside Ferrari's home at Maranello. That the world's biggest Formula 1 brand would make a car more at ease off the track than on it would have been unthinkable a decade ago. In 2017, it is a necessity. "That space is too big and inviting," said Marchionne.
There has been a growing craze for SUVs all over the world. One exception has been ultra high net worth individuals who prefer ostentatious chauffeur-driven saloons or thoroughbreds made-for-the-track sports cars. Traditional wisdom says a vehicle capable of going into a jungle or a desert cannot provide the kind of comfort and luxury the super rich want. It's no longer true.
Sergio Marchionne, the 65-year-old Chairman and Chief Executive of Italian supercar maker Ferrari, created a flutter last month when he said the company was considering products beyond its traditional sports car to double profits by 2022. The takeaway was obvious. Ferrari was mulling a sports utility vehicle or SUV. Puritans in love with the brand's history of superlative rear wheel-driven sports cars were dismayed. Marchionne was quick to add it would be done in Ferrari's style. What that meant was anybody's guess.
Till a few years ago, this would have been considered a catastrophe for the brand. Today, it elicits just a surprise or a smirk or a resigned nod by old timers at cafes outside Ferrari's home at Maranello. That the world's biggest Formula 1 brand would make a car more at ease off the track than on it would have been unthinkable a decade ago. In 2017, it is a necessity. "That space is too big and inviting," said Marchionne.
There has been a growing craze for SUVs all over the world. One exception has been ultra high net worth individuals who prefer ostentatious chauffeur-driven saloons or thoroughbreds made-for-the-track sports cars. Traditional wisdom says a vehicle capable of going into a jungle or a desert cannot provide the kind of comfort and luxury the super rich want. It's no longer true.