Ferrari Purosangue, there is a vintage SUV that reached the same speeds: you will surely remember it

The Ferrari Purosangue is already a myth in itself. In the past there was an SUV that, like the one from Maranello, was truly scary in terms of performance

Breaking its tradition as a sports car manufacturer, the Ferrari decided to make an SUV too. On September 13, 2022, the Thoroughbred, i.e. the first, and to date only, Sport Utility Vehicle to come out of the Maranello workshops. Potentially, the decision to produce a similar model could have been risky but the reality turned out to be very different.

The Prancing Horse SUV was a resounding success, despite a price exceeding 385,000 euros. The naturally aspirated V12 engine at the front gives it 725 horsepower of maximum power and an electrifying sound. The Ferrari Purosangue is perhaps the Most loved and desired SUV on the market and, taking a look at its performance and its dream design, we all understand why.

A very powerful SUV that had, so to speak, an illustrious predecessor. Twenty-four years ago, in fact, a racing car with similar performance was unveiled, that is the BMW X5 Le Mans. We are talking about a Sport Utility Vehicle which apparently has nothing different from the standard model which in any case does not go slowly at all. The substantial difference, obviously, was under the hood.

SUV, here is the BMW X5 Le Mans that scared everyone

In addition to the engine, however, there were some differences compared to the base such as the presence of 20-inch gold BBS rims, low-profile tires and also a ground clearance of about 30 mm lower.

However, these are differences that do not lead us to think about the performances that we will reveal to you shortly. As anticipated, in fact, the real strong point of this BMW X5 was located under the bonnet with an engine capable of unleashing exceptional thrust.

To give power to this particular BMW there was a 12-cylinder engine with 700 horsepower of maximum powerwhich had been mounted on the McLaren F1 that ran the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1999. At the time, the Munich manufacturer had entered into a partnership with the Woking manufacturer regarding endurance races. In this regard, many will remember the splendid British car with the BMW livery, which also achieved notable results in specialty races.

The BMW X5 Le Mans came to the most feared track in the world, the Nurburgring Nordschleife, setting an exceptional time. The German driver Hans-Joachim Stuck lapped it in 7 minutes, 49 seconds and 92 hundredths, an exceptional performance to say the least considering that we are talking about a quarter of a century ago and which still gives fans shivers today.

With this model, BMW hit the mark in every way. An authentic concentration of beauty and power that was truly ahead of its time.