Inside, a new steering wheel, which will also be fitted to future Ferraris, features a smaller airbag with the horn actuated from the center button, and all minor controls, from indicator to wiper switches, from the Manettino. And it's here that Ferrari makes the GTC4Lusso's design intent crystal clear. The Manettino allows drivers to switch between Snow, Wet, Comfort, and Sport modes and allows the stability control system to be switched off. But there is no Race mode. This is a touring Ferrari, not a sports car.

Ferrari product marketing boss Nicola Boari says FF customers, who are 10 years younger than the average Ferrari buyer, drive their cars 50 percent farther and make 70 to 75 percent of their trips with at least one passenger on board, told Maranello they wanted a car they could drive every day. "They weren't looking for more performance," he says. "They were looking for more ways to use the car." One customer criticism: The FF's exhaust note was too loud in normal driving. On the GTC4Lusso, the secondary baffles in the mufflers do not open until 4,500 rpm or so. In Comfort mode, with the transmission switched to automatic, this Ferrari is impressively quiet and refined around town.

"It's fair to say Ferrari has not been at the top in terms of infotainment systems," notes Boari wryly. The GTC4Lusso changes all that with an infotainment system that is state-of-the-moment. The centerpiece is a 10.25-inch HD touchscreen that allows users to swipe between modes, pinch and zoom, or use haptic controls if they prefer, and it offers split-screen views. The navigation display uses Google Earth maps, and the system will hook up with Apple CarPlay. A thin, separately configurable 8.8-inch secondary screen that runs across the dash above the glove box is available as an option.

2017 Ferrari GTC4Lusso instrument cluster 02 1

The dramatically styled interior looks elegant and modern, more upscale than any recent Ferrari; it's luxurious without resorting to the often cliché chromed 'n' wood 'n' leather. The front seats are firm and supportive yet very comfortable. You could cover a thousand miles a day in this car and get out of it each evening feeling fresh. The rear seats? Not so much. Although rear-seat legroom has been increased 16mm compared with the FF, it's still a relatively tight fit back there for adults. That said, the front seats motor forward to make entry and egress much easier, and the accommodation is perfectly acceptable for shorter journeys. For most duty cycles, the GTC4Lusso is a genuinely usable four-seater.

The car's biggest single improvement over the FF, the one thing that will get people to take Ferrari's unique take on a modern GT much more seriously, is the restyled exterior. Done in-house by Ferrari Design, the GTC4Lusso keeps the same general proportion as the FF, but the surfacing is much more toned and athletic, the detailing crisper and more concise. Elements of the redesign that make all the difference: the elimination of the reverse angle at the rear of the daylight opening; broader shoulders courtesy of a 1.1-inch increase in width across the rear wheels; a stronger rear end graphic with four taillights; the three-vane side vent that deftly pays homage to the iconic 330GTC; a simpler, broader grille; the subtle spoiler over the rear window. The FF looked soft, flaccid. The GTC4Lusso looks low, wide, muscular, purposeful. It has real road presence.

Breathtakingly quick and capable when you want it to be, impressively smooth and comfortable when you need it to be, the Ferrari GTC4Lusso is the real deal, agran turismoyou can drive all day, every day. It is the first true 24/7 Ferrari. Due to arrive in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, with prices starting from about $300,000, it's been a long time coming—but well worth the wait.

2017 Ferrari GTC4Lusso
BASE PRICE	$300,000 (mfr est)
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, AWD, 4-pass, 2-door hatchback
ENGINE	6.3L/680-hp/514-lb/ft DOHC 48-valve V-12
TRANSMISSION	Front: 2-speed auto; Rear: 7-speed twin-clutch auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	4,250 lb (mfr)
WHEELBASE	117.7 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	193.8 x 78.0 x 54.4 in
0-60 MPH	3.2 sec (MT est)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	N/A
ENERGY CONSUMPTION	N/A
ON SALE IN U.S.	Fourth quarter 2016

Great in theory, not always in practice

"The GTC4Lusso is the best answer we can give to the question of if we are doing an SUV," says Ferrari product marketing chief Nicola Boari with a smile. He's only half-joking, of course. Even though Ferrari is now directly run by Sergio Marchionne, a man whose understanding of brand and product is far from nuanced ("Hey, let's rebadge Chryslers in Europe as Lancias. They'll sell like hot cakes. "), a Ferrari SUV is off the agenda. Sergio has said so himself.

Ferrari is best known for its racing and sports cars. But the company has a long history of building four-seaters, too. The 1960 Ferrari 250 GT/E was the first production four-seat Ferrari. It used the 3.0-liter V-12 engine and chassis of the 250 Tour de France. Almost 1,000 were sold, but despite that promising debut, four-seat Ferraris have tended to be more polarizing than popular.