Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Ferrari GTC4Lusso. Ferrari’s current front engine, four-seater grand tourer which serves as a replacement for the FF. The FF, which had a short service span of five years, underwent a few surgical advancements and now re-enters as the revamped and more powerful 2+2 Ferrari, christened as the GTC4Lusso. The GTC4Lusso was introduced with four wheel steering, increased cabin space and a lot more equipment than what meets the eye. And now, the GTC4Lusso makes its Indian debut just a year after its global premiere at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Here’s a picture gallery to drool over Maranello's take on a grand touring station wagon.
Upfront, there is a grille that harks back at the original Ferrari 2+2 – the 612 Scaglietti. The headlamps are more LaFerrari than the docile FF. The curvaceous bonnet gets sharp splitters beneath, lending the GTC4Lusso an aggressive appeal.
The air vents on the side are now more prominent and allow more air in to cool the engine. The long hood ends up in a raked windscreen which then flows into a coupe shooting-brake body style which is a bit quirky to look at first.
The streamlined roofline flows into a hunched silhouette which only the Italians can pull off. Still, the shape grows on you the more you look at it and that’s what makes it the most practical Ferrari money can buy. A lot of money, mind it.
The rear gets quad circular tail lights which are more appealing than the one in FF. The large rear diffuser shouts performance, contrary to the practical Ferrari approach everywhere else. The lip spoiler and the integrated pair of dual exhaust tips add character.
The opulence in the cabin is exactly what one can expect in a car of this caliber. The Ferrari steering wheel and instrument cluster are the only performance elements on the inside, whereas everything else is focused on luxury and comfort.
The new addition to the GTC4Lusso is a functional infotainment screen on the passenger side that allows the co-driver to make phone calls, control music, fiddle with the sat-nav and see how fast the driver is actually going with speedometer and tachometer.
The dashboard gets an all-new 10-inch infotainment screen flanked by air-vents on top and couple of control knobs beneath. The use of exotic materials in the most opulent manner (apart from many other things) makes the GTC4Lusso one desirable Ferrari.
And it’s got the rights to brag of being the most practical Prancing Horse ever, because you can easily accommodate two full grown adults in the back seats in utmost comfort with some room to spare. The boot space of 400litres is the most offered by Maranello so far.
The rear seats when folded, increase the compartment space up to 800liters. But they do not go completely flat. Now volume space isn’t too much, but it is highly commendable by Ferrari standards. The tail gate opens as a hatch and the loading bay is rather narrow.
But that’s not a feature one should bother about when there is a glorious V12 lurking under the hood. The naturally aspirated 6.2-litre unit breathes out 680bhp at 8000rpm and 697Nm at 5750rpm. The firepower is enough for a 0-100kmph time of mere 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 345kmph.
It’s a supercar engine, placed as far behind the front axle as possible. The clever 4RM-S system transmits torque to all four wheels via a power transfer unit (PTU) wizardry. This will be better explained in a road test if Ferrari lends us the car, that is.
The four-wheel steering from the F12tdf makes debut in the GTC4Lusso. Thus, making the grand tourer nimble in handling on good traction surfaces while providing better stability in the low traction situations, says Ferrari.
There is no direct rival to the GTC4Lusso – no four seater that can be more lavish or afford so much luxury and at the same time, match it up with breathtaking speeds.
However, the GTC4Lusso can be an expensive alternative to the Aston Martin DB11 and Bentley Continental GT in India. Both are excellent grand tourers in their own right, but with the GTC4Lusso you get a ‘family Ferrari’.
