Kitcatt Nohr Digitas

Surprise has greeted the unveiling of the new Ferrari FF. But if you take a geopolitical view of things, it shouldn’t be so shocking.

Ferrari has always had a GT in its range. However, its latest GT is the first four-wheel drive Ferrari. It’s also the first that looks like a bread van. (Or, more kindly, a shooting brake.)

Whatever you think of the styling (personally, I wouldn’t throw it out of bed), it’s evidence of a major trend in world car design. Strangely few commentators have spotted this.

Which country has the world’s fastest-growing car market? Even in the luxury sector? It’s China. A country with some of the roughest roads in the world (as well as a lot of the best ones). The kind of roads that warrant four-wheel drive. And the kind of country where drivers like to take lots of friends (and their baggage) along for a spin to impress them with their new-found wealth.

In launching the FF, Ferrari has cleverly responded to the decisive shift of demand for premium products to the east. It seems the defining trip for the GT is no longer Rome to Portofino. It’s Beijing to Guangzhou.