2023 Ferrari 296 GTB F171

With its V6 hybrid powerplant, the Ferrari 296 GTB marks a whole new approach from Maranello. 830hp and a short wheelbase lead Ferrari to claim this is the most fun-to-drive car in its range. But is it? We’re about to find out – on road and track.

Brave New World

Story by Chris Rees

Photography by Ferrari

My sense of relief is so intense it feels like an epiphany. OK, not quite areligious revelation but a moment that feels, somehow, seminal for Ferrari. The car I’ve just driven – Maranello’s latest offering, the 296 GTB – is sensationally good.The feeling of relief is so palpable because, in the run-up to this encounter, I’ve been feeling more apprehensive than a teenager on a first date. Make no mistake, the 296 GTB represents a step change for Ferrari: this is not only its first-ever V6 (remember, the 1967-1974 Dino never wore Ferrari badges) but also its first rear-wheel drive hybrid.

My angst has centred around that hybrid V6. The 296 GTB derives its name from the engine’s 2.9-litre capacity and six-cylinder format (actually 3.0 litres but I’ll let that pass). A ‘mere’ V6 could so easily have ended up making the 296 feel like a ‘sub’ Ferrari, but I’m delighted to report that, in fact, quite the opposite is the case. This is a sublime powerplant. And as I’m shortly to discover, this is a sublime car.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m in Spain to test the new 296 GTB on both road and track. Approaching ‘my’ 296, painted in a lustrously deep shade of Rosso Imola, I’m struck by how it looks very much in the ‘zone’ of recent Ferrari designs – kind of half-F8, half-SF90 – yet has its own identity. On hand to talk me through it is the man who designed it, Stefano De Simone, who reveals: “The very first concept sketch that I did by hand measured just 10cm across. Flavio Manzoni picked it out as the one he wanted to develop and the very next day we created a shape in 3D.”

There are explicit references in the rear haunches and flying rear buttresses to Ferrari’s first-ever mid-engined road car, the 250 LM, something that’s also echoed in the flat rear deck and vertical rear screen. Other design highlights include ‘teardrop’ headlights, visor-like windscreen, delicious double-curvature glass engine cover, Kamm tail with a single centre-exit exhaust and rear lights integrated with an active spoiler. There’s plenty of clever aerodynamic stuff going on here but nothing interrupts the car’s pure, simple profile. So the F1-style ‘tea tray’ is almost hidden in the front bumper, while the active rear spoiler pops up only at high speed.

OK, time to step aboard. The 296 GTB borrows a lot of its instrumentation from the SF90’s 100% digital layout. The cabin is notably more compact than the SF90’s but it’s still got plenty enough headroom and legroom. My only criticism ergonomically is that there’s a slight offset to the left footrest. Time to start her up. What’s this? No sound at all. Indeed: my 296 GTB journey starts with no spark in the internal combustion engine. That’s because when you set off with the steering wheel eManettino – shared with the SF90 – in the ‘Hybrid’ position, battery power is the default. You can also choose ‘eDrive’ mode to keep the car in EV mode for up to 15 miles, at speeds up to 84mph. It’s pretty nippy as an EV, thanks to 167hp of pure battery power.

But it doesn’t take long for the new F163 V6 motor to kick in as soon as your right foot gets heavy. Now is the moment: my first taste of the soundtrack. Because the V6 engine has a very slender ‘vee’ (120 degrees), Ferrari has been able to locate two chunky IHI turbos right inside the vee. That means the exhaust has a very short, straight tract that exits in the centre-rear. I simply can’t resist burying the throttle. I’m rewarded by a growl and then, as the revs rise, the impending wonder of an increasingly high-pitched wail. As the digital ‘needle’ rotates to its peak of 8500rpm, it’s clear Ferrari has put serious effort in here, with its patented ‘hot tube resonator’ (what a name!) funnelling an intoxicating sound into the cabin. Ease off the throttle and – yes! – it pops and crackles on the overrun. That’s in stark contrast to Maserati’s rather muted soundtrack for the Nettuno V6 (with which the 296 GTB shares absolutely nothing, contrary to some press reports). I still don’t think the F163 sounds quite as extraordinary as my favourite Ferrari engines – the naturally aspirated V8s and V12s – but it’s definitely more sonorous than Maranello’s current V8 turbos. With 221hp per litre (a world record), I was equally worried that the V6 might be very peaky in its power delivery. I needn’t have been: the twin turbos and electric motor fill in every conceivable torque gap to provide both effortless low-speed grunt and phenomenal peak power. In terms of how it performs, I’m very relieved to report that this all-new V6 powertrain has ‘true Ferrari’ written all over it. Of course it’s mated to an automated gearbox, a revised version of Ferrari’s eight-speed dual-clutch tranny. Ferrari says the gearshifts are faster than anything else on the market and I have to concur. The centre tunnel features an SF90-inspired classic gearshift gate to work your way around but I instantly defer to using the paddle shifters, which are much more suited to the 296 GTB’s character, even if the paddles themselves feel a bit ‘PlayStation’. My main interface issue, though, is the haptic buttons on the steering wheel, whose harsh feel lacks a premium vibe.

With the eManettino switched to ‘Performance’ mode, the transmission really comes alive, offering rifle-fast changes up and down. There’s a further ‘Qualify’ mode that gives you the full beans in power terms – did I mention that’s 830hp? And did I also say that the 296 GTB is extremely fast – almost excessively so? The on-paper figures give you some clue – 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds, 0-124 in 7.3 – but the sensations from the driver’s seat are simply eyepopping. On empty Spanish roads leading invitingly up into low hills, I quickly realise I have no appreciation of the true speed the car is doing. Let me simply say that the 296 GTB is, dear reader, monstrously quick. Driving on up into higher landscapes, I start to appreciate the excellent visibility to the front (let’s not talk about the abysmal rear vision, fraught with blind spots, making reversing a nightmare). Being able to spot each apex gives you confidence to push on through the twisty bits. And here is where the 296 GTB truly starts to shine.

The wheelbase is 50mm shorter than the F8 Tributo’s. That might not sound like much but it makes a major difference to the dynamic feel. It starts right from the off, with an amazing sense of connection through the wheel. Unique settings for the electric steering give it a firmer feel than the F8 and the front end darts into corners with a sharpness that feels almost psychic. The intuition continues with how brilliantly predictable the GTB is on a series of S-bends winding up into the hills: move your hands and it reacts purely and simply.

It’s not just the short wheelbase that’s helping. Remember the engine’s 120-degree vee formation? That keeps the engine so low that it’s almost out of sight in the engine bay. Result? A centre of gravity 10mm lower than the F8’s. I’m also struck by just how much grip there is. Even in CT-Off mode, you have to be behaving in a very silly way to unstick the back end on public roads. It’s a different story on track, though, which we’ll get to in a second.

Another surprise: in hard but supportive carbon seats, the ride is surprisingly good. Maybe it’s the billiard-smooth Spanish tarmac but I suspect not: the 296 GTB simply avoids that crashiness that afflicts so many supercars.

Another new sensation is how you feel the hybrid system absorbing braking energy through regeneration. And hear it, too, through the callipers. And when you need to use them, the brakes are monstrously potent: Ferrari quotes a braking distance of 107 metres from 124mph. The aero-shaped callipers, by the way, come straight from the SF90 Stradale.

TRACK TEST

So the 296 GTB is hugely impressive on the road. But driving it on circuit will be the truer test of its ultimate abilities. Ferrari has colonised the Monteblanco circuit at La Palma del Condado, near Seville in Spain – not a track I’ve been to before – to give us a chance to assess the 296 GTB on track. Arriving on site, I’m introduced to the experience via my ears, not my eyes: a car is blitzing the track on shakedown duties and I can hear the satisfyingly racer-like soundtrack from a mile or so away.

Then the 296 heaves into view: an extraordinary sight painted in yellow with Argento Nürburgring stripes (wouldn’t be my choice, I have to say, especially as the stripes alone cost £14,400). It’s fitted with the optional track-focused Fiorano Performance Pack which, at £25,920, is likely to attract an estimated one in four buyers. You get firmer dampers, Michelin Sport Cup2R tyres, a high-downforce aero package, Lexan rear screen and extra carbonfibre goodies that help cut overall weight by 15kg.

Ferrari reckons the SF90 is about a second faster around Ferrari’s Fiorano track than the 296 GTB (1’19” versus 1’20” for the 296 on Cup 2R tyres) but an inside source told me that the performance difference might actually be tighter than this.

As soon as I exit the pitlane, I immediately notice one big difference to the road car. The Cup2R tyres make the front end so much more darty. The slightest flick of the steering results in an instantaneous change of direction. At first it feels almost nervous but you soon get used to the fact that it’s just exceptionally fast acting. Indeed, at no point on the circuit – even the tightest hairpins – do I ever need more than a 90-degree turn of the wheel.

On track, the steering emerges as not only quick, reactive and feelsome but also, most importantly, predictable. The front end connects supremely well on turn-in and any hint of understeer is quickly dialled out with judicious use of the throttle. Here’s where Ferrari’s revised Side Slip Control (SSC) system comes into its own, estimating the grip of the tyres in each steering manoeuvre, so that the control systems intervene in just the right way.

It all feels so intuitive, which is perhaps the greatest achievement of the 296 GTB chassis. Not only can you feel the car’s natural balance but the SSC intervenes so seamlessly that you always feel it’s you doing the work. Moving the manettino from ‘Race’ to ‘CT-Off’ to dial up the looseness of the rear end, you can plant the accelerator to the floor coming out of a tight turn and the rear end slides in a beautifully controlled way. But doesn’t it feel a tad artificial? I can’t say it does, although I do have one caveat. It’s tempting to apply a lot of opposite lock during lurid slides but the SSC is programmed to intervene so you don’t need to do it nearly as much as you would in other cars. It was for this reason that one (unnamed) journalist on the track span his car. So it is possible, then…

On Monteblanco’s long start-finish straight, I glance down at the speedo just before braking and just see it breaking the 280km/h (174mph) mark. Thankfully, you can leave braking astonishingly late, so potent are the carbon discs. Trail-braking into each corner produces a sublime feeling of control.

My time is up in the driver’s seat but there’s one extra treat awaiting me. I strap into the passenger seat alongside ex-F1 driver Marc Gené for a few hot laps. He’s only just learnt the circuit but is straight out of the blocks at full pelt, riding the kerbs with utter confidence. A huge Michelin truck is on site so he’s free to ‘extend the car fully’ without worrying about tyre wear – and by the end of our run, the temp sensors on the rears are both screaming ‘OVER’ in carmine red. Marc informs me at maximum velocity: “This feels like a car that was born on the race track and then developed for the road. The single most impressive thing about it is the change of direction, thanks to its short wheelbase and perfect balance of weight. Also I find the brakes feel like ABS racing brakes. In fact, I would say overall this feels very much like a Ferrari 488 Challenge to drive on track.” High praise indeed for a road car.

VERDICT

I’ve heard some people describe the 296 GTB as Ferrari’s ‘new entry-level car’. Nothing could be further than the truth. For starters, its pricing – between the F8 Tributo and SF90 Stradale – clearly shows Ferrari’s ambition for the model. But most important of all, this is, without question, the best car in Ferrari’s current line-up. Let me explain why. Reducing the wheelbase by two inches may not sound much but it has a profound effect on handling sharpness. It’s almost supernaturally intuitive, with incredible turn-in and amazing balance.

This is also probably the fastest real-world car in Ferrari’s range, full stop. Yes, the SF90 Stradale has more power (1000hp) but it’s bigger and heavier and encumbered by four-wheel drive. On a dry, twisty road, the 296 GTB would certainly be the more agile car. To my ears, the V6 also sounds nicer than Ferrari’s current V8s. Not for nothing did the development team call it the ‘piccolo V12’ (small V12), as it has the cultured high-pitched wail of a twelve combined with a superb exhaust note.

And it’s comfortable – not quite as cosseting as a Maserati MC20 but not far off – with decent interior space. You can even drive it as an electric vehicle in town. It’s a struggle to find any serious criticisms of the 296 GTB – just a few cabin interface issues – but overall this is a supercar you could happily live with every day. So there it is: if I were to have only one new Ferrari, the 296 GTB would be the one I’d take.

Around the track, the 296 GTB has the feel – and pretty much the pace – of a Ferrari 488 Challenge racer. Sophistication is hinted at in the configurable digital menu. Helm feels ultra-responsive at all times. Short wheelbase, balance and 830hp of grunt make this an extremely rapid cross-country machine. Flying buttresses, flat rear deck and vertical back screen all recall 250 LM. Cabin feels very inviting.

“ This is, without question, the best car in Ferrari’s current line-up: supernaturally intuitive, with incredible turn-in and amazing balance ”

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONSFERRARI 296 GTB

• ENGINE: 2992cc V6 twin-turbo hybrid
• BORE X STROKE: 88mm x 82mm
• COMPRESSION RATIO: 9.4:1
• MAX POWER: 830bhp at 8000rpm
• MAX TORQUE: 740Nm at 6250rpm
• BATTERY CAPACITY: 7.45kWh
• DIMENSIONS: 4565mm (L), 1958mm (W), 1187mm (H)
• WEIGHT: 1470kg (dry)
• TYRES: 245/35 ZR20 (front), 305/35 ZR20 (rear)
• BRAKES: 398 x 38mm (front), 360 x 32mm (rear)
• TRANSMISSION: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
• MAX SPEED: 205mph
• 0-62MPH: 2.9sec
• CO2: 149g/km
• PRICE: £241,550