The most interesting thing about the Ferrari Purosangue is not the huge V-12 under that incredible clamshell hood—it’s the suspension. It’s a fully active system, built around Multimatic True Active Spool Valve (TASV) dampers, which give Ferrari unprecedented control of how the body moves. Where most automotive suspension is reactive, even the fancy kinds, this is proactive, and it makes all the difference in the world.
With an active-suspension system, you’re able to put a supplementary force into a car’s body. This means you can cancel out all body motion—roll, pitch, heave, and dive—entirely, and precisely optimize the load on each individual tire. It does wonders for ride quality, and handling as well. A test driver once told me having active suspension is like being able to cheat physics. It’s incredible.
The Multimatic dampers have a 48-volt motor that’s geared to a ball screw, which itself controls the motion of the damper piston regardless of external input from the road. Ferrari still allows for some body motion to give the driver a bit of feel, but the system makes the big, heavy Purosangue ride and handle like a much smaller, lighter car. It’s uncanny.
While the system is amazing in the Purosangue, we’re just barely scratching the surface with what active suspension can do. Ferrari is using TASV dampers in the upcoming F80, which will enable the car’s incredible aerodynamic performance without making the ride quality unbearable on the road. It’s worth a deep dive, with some visuals. So please enjoy this, the premiere episode of Motor101.
