Ferrari GTC4 Lusso Officially Dead, Purosangue SUV Likely Serving As Replacement

The term ‘shooting brake’ is bandied about by car manufacturers more than ever, but away from coach built oddities, there’s only one vehicle around today that stays true to the SB remit. At least, there was. The Ferrari GTC4 Lusso is no more.

Following reports of the car’s demise, the death of the three-door wagon was confirmed by Maranello. “In accordance with its five-year model strategy announced in 2017 and the company’s standard model life cycle, Ferrari has phased out production of the GTC4Lusso and GTC4Lusso T,” the company said in a statement.

Five years doesn’t sound like an awfully long shelf-life, but remember, this strategy relies on what could be referred to as ‘heavy facelifts’. Just as the Portofino evolved from the California and the F8 Tributo from the 488 GTB (itself an evolution of the 458), the Lusso can be traced back to the FF which made its debut in 2011.

The four-seater Ferrari - which was available with either a 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 or a 6.3-litre naturally-aspirated V12 - won’t be directly replaced, it seems. No successor has been announced, nor has one been rumoured or spotted undergoing testing.

There’s a good reason for that: this apparent lack of a direct follow-up for the Lusso leaves plenty of room for its indirect replacement, the Purosangue SUV. Like the GTC4 it’ll likely be available with an N/A V12 or a turbocharged V8, with a new turbo V6 also on the menu.

The Purosangue isn’t expected to arrive until 2021, however. So if you want a brand new Ferrari to transport more than two people before then, it’ll have to be the 2+2 Roma. Just make sure the people you’re squeezing in the rear seats are small.