Ferrari Purosangue Handling Speciale driven: sublime or overkill?
The HS pack has sensibly left the regular day-to-day ride quality unaltered, and while deteriorated road surfaces can send a faintly brittle fizz up through the vast, diamond-cut, HS-specific wheels, this is never an uncomfortable car.
And then, when you begin to push on in Sport, this SUV’s resistance to pitch under the heaviest-possible braking and the precision with which it can peel its long nose into tricky corners is startling. With the manettino in Sport and the dampers in Hard, there are deep reserves of control and stability, allowing you to get familiar with the HS’s burlier-sounding and still monstrously potent V12. Shifts are also a delight and in the HS hit noticeably harder about 5000rpm, particularly in Race.
On track the HS can also show off its playful side. When a Ferrari engineer earlier asked me what I was expecting from the pack, I jokingly replied: “More lift-off oversteer.” The punchline is that this honed Purosangue will do that if you ask, as well as holding delicate little slides. It will even indulge in neutral steer, such is the balance. It feels like a chunky, four-wheel-drive 12Cilindri, albeit with the exception of the steering, which lacks the easy, trust-inducing transparency of the coupé’s (the Purosangue can’t perform miracles).
Do you go for the HS pack, then? Given that it costs less than certain paint options and doesn’t hurt day-to-day manners, there’s little reason not to. The Purosangue is a more ebullient car for having it, even if the more conspicuous change (the sound of the V12) has nothing to do with the chassis. On the other hand, the HS-specific satin ‘Ferrari’ script across the blunt tail, black Prancing Horse badge, matt black exhaust tips and darker wheels don’t scream sophistication.
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