I'm in Italy to drive the new Ferrari Purosangue SUV and the last time I came here to drive a Ferrari, the weather was fine, with temperatures into double figures, if a little overcast and dewy.
There’s a reason why I mention this (I’m not auditioning to be the next Wincey Willis). Had it been Britain and on Autocar’s own tab, we’d have headed merrily directly down the pit lane – but sorry, said Ferrari’s people, it’s too cold for the tyres to work properly around the company’s Fiorano test track, so we’d have to wait and sip coffee until the day warmed through.
So I talked to an engineer instead, and while I can’t guarantee he avoided using the phrase ‘SUV’, he told me the company had only committed to making a tall car when it was sure that it could be a true Ferrari (ditto the electric car that’s still two years away).
That high car, though – the Ferrari SUV, 4x4 or crossover, as you prefer (they don’t use the terms but pretend not to be offended if you do) – is here now. And there’s no question of waiting until the roads have warmed up to test it or I’d be here until April. It’s mid-January as I drive, although not as you read. In fact, today we’ll go in search of the worst conditions that roads between Italian ski resorts can throw at us.