It looks so pure and simple, this new Ferrari 296 GTB. Just look at the thing! At first glance you understand its purpose, its character. It’s the pert member of the Ferrari family. Tidy and trim, almost youthful. It is, in other words, clearly the descendent of the fetching Dino 246.
But it’s not so simple as all that. It’s really very complicated. The specific retro design touches don’t come from Dino, Ferrari’s long-ago-aborted range of “budget” cars. The way the tubular side intakes meld into the bulging rear fenders is taken independently from the company’s mid-Sixties V-12 prototype racer, the 250 LM. So is the small, deep-set vertical rear window. And, though this suggestion elicited only polite silence from a Ferrari designer, the helmet-visor shape of the windshield and side glass and the tiny integrated wing at the trailing edge of the roof suggest a certain Lancia Stratos-like modishness.
Ferrari
If the body shape is more complicated than it first appears, the mechanical package that lies beneath is a festival of complexity. Despite its mid-mounted V-6 engine, this is no lesser Ferrari. (For the record, Ferrari insists this is the first road-going Ferrari powered by a V-6. The company still hasn’t let Dino into the family after all these years.) With a total system output of 818 hp, this piccolo Ferrari is decidedly immodest. High on 34.6 psi of turbo boost, the 2.9-liter V-6 produces 654 hp all by its little lonesome. And that V-6 shares its 120-degree V-angle not with a Dino’s V-6 but with the engine that powered the Ferrari’s Sharknose F1 car that Phil Hill drove to a world championship in 1961. But as you might expect, the V – angle and cylinder count is about all those engines share.
The wide V-angle keeps the heavy stuff low in the chassis and makes more than ample room in the valley to package twin turbos, one for each cylinder bank. The even power pulses of the configuration make a consistent stream of rushing gases to feed the turbos. These are the same advantages that led McLaren to use the 120-degree configuration for its V-6 hybrid sports car, the upcoming Artura.
Ferrari
Sandwiched between this little powerhouse and the 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox is an electric motor that can kick in up to 201 horsepower. It’s clutched so the car can run on EV power only, although the 7.45-kWh lithium-ion battery mounted behind the seats has only enough juice to provide about 15 miles of electric range. The 296’s system is simpler than that of its big brother, the three-motor, four-wheel-drive SF90. But that’s relative simplicity, not actual simplicity.
Generating relative linearity in power delivery means a lot of sophisticated juggling of the two power sources. The 296 feels more like a Porsche 918 Spyder than a Dino. And once you get over the idea that this new world of sports cars should feel like the old world, it’s a wonderful thing. Acceleration is of the amusement-park thrill-ride variety. You don’t wait for the engine to build up to its 8000 rpm peak. You simply explode away from the spot of pavement you were just covering. It’s not what you grew up with, but it sure is intoxicating.
Ferrari
Most of the powertrain is visible from the outside through a huge, contoured transparent cover. Think of it less as an engine window and more as an engine display case. The 296 doesn’t sound like a conventional car, either. Sure, the V-6 sounds more thrilling than V-6s are supposed to, helped by a sound tube that pipes intake noise into the cabin. Ferrari says the V-6 sounds like a little V-12, but we’re not so sure about that. It has its own urgent, high-pitched timbre. Overlaid atop the intake and exhaust noise is prominent turbo hiss and, at lower aggression levels, an electric hum. It’s an ensemble, not a solo.
Like the engine, the steering system gets an electric boost. This does nothing to diminish the accuracy or immediacy of the 296’s responses, but neither does it feel like an old hydraulic system. It is light on feel, a digital interface directing an analog task. But as long as you don’t go in expecting the wheel to buzz and jiggle in your hands, you will not be disappointed. Just as terrifying to purists: The big calipers are controlled by a brake-by-wire system. This operates beautifully, even if the pedal doesn’t feel exactly like that of a conventional system. During our time on the road in the standard 296 , the brake pedal did not draw attention to itself. Braking is progressive and smooth. On the nearby racetrack, driving the lighter weight, track-oriented Asseto Fiorano version, the brakes felt spectacular (helped by sticky Michelin Cup 2 R tires). They never tired, and I could positively stand on the brake pedal going into the tight first corner.
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The 296 GTB Asetto Fiorano, the track-ready variant.
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The modern Ferrari fully embraces technology. And while the increasing computerization of its cars causes some consternation, so far, the company has managed to deploy technology in a way that can make any Ferrari pilot feel like a better driver.
And the chassis responds faithfully to inputs. The 296 rides on a relatively short wheelbase of 102.4 inches, a couple inches shorter than the F8 Tributo’s. The car feels nimble and wieldy, not heavy. Maybe not a wispy rapier, but not a fat broadsword either. This despite weighing about 3 percent more than the bigger F8. The 296 carries 60 percent of its weight over its rear axle (slightly more than the F8), but it is a balanced handler. It’s relatively easy to control (or maintain) a slide, and everything happens progressively. There is monster grip from the standard fitment Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires (in the same 245/35R-20 front and 305/35R-20 rear sizes as on the F8), but 800 hp also allows for basically immediate speed, too. Balancing those two forces is great fun, even if the stakes are high. The car is stable at speed, in part thanks to an automatically deploying rear spoiler that motors out of the slot between the taillights and curves up the way a cat licks its own nose.
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Like the exterior design, the 296’s interior looks simple. And it mostly is—until you fire the car up. Then the smooth glass of the digital instrument panel gets crowded almost. Swiping through various menus for various portions of screen space gets to be overwhelming. It’s the kind of system where you fear you’ll get in too deep and never find your way back out. We didn’t have time to explore the psyche of the system’s creator. I was happy to have a speed and rpm readout and a detailed digital map of the Spanish countryside through which we drive. I never bothered to turn on the stereo. Couldn’t tell you how. It would probably only play Euro pop, anyway. We hope Ferrari dealers are giving complete tutorials for their clients.
Ferrari
Officially, the 296 GTB is a new model line, not a replacement for the mid-engine V-8 cars that have been a Ferrari mainstay since the Seventies. And Ferrari says the F8 will continue alongside the new car. But the pair are awfully similar in size, configuration, and performance. Ferrari estimates that the two cars post identical 0-62 mph acceleration times of 2.9 seconds. At $317,986 (base price without destination charges), the 296 is about $40,000 more expensive than the F8 Tributo. For now, the 296 GTB won’t replace the V-8 car, but things aren’t always what they seem. It’s complicated.
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