Ferrari’s first plug-in-hybrid, turbocharged V-6 supercar (yes, you read that right).
The Ferrari 296 GTB is a liar. And liars always have tells: the furtive sideways glance, a hand briefly covering the mouth. The first of the 296’s is its “shifter.”
Like every modern Ferrari, the 296 carries a paddle-shifted dual-clutch automatic transmission. Yet a silver panel between the seats mimics the gated manual shifter of Ferraris past. Instead of sprouting a slender chrome rod topped with a shiny black sphere, there’s a line of electric switches in the “neutral position” to engage reverse, choose between automatic and manual modes, and activate launch control. It’s no coincidence that the 296’s older sibling, the plug-in hyper hybrid SF90, uses an identical arrangement.
Likewise, the 296’s body is a mix of classic references covering decidedly new technology. The Dino 246’s low-slung slinkiness. A touch of clean late-Sixties wedgy modishness. And a modern interpretation of the mid-Sixties Ferrari 250 LM sports racer on the rear quarter. It looks lithe, the sort of thing that should dance across the road on its toes.
Its buttresses and deep-set rear window suggest the 250 lM racer; its low-slung slinkiness calls to mind the Dino 246. Yet the 296 still appears fully modern.
LORENZO MARCINNO
But the 296 is not what it appears to be. It is, instead, the future. And the future is an explosion. How else could one describe the blast force from a highly boosted turbocharged engine teamed with an integrated electric motor to deliver 819 hp in one great hissing, zinging, screaming lump?
Like the naturally aspirated powerplants in earlier, purely engine-driven Ferraris, the 296’s 3.0- liter V-6 is a high-revving gem of a thing. It alone produces 654 hp at a stratospheric 8000 rpm while emitting a high-pitched, quasi-V-12 scream. But unlike Ferrari engines of old, this V-6, with its unusual 120-degree bank angle, is part of an ensemble, not a solo performance. There’s no real sensation of the engine coming into its powerband. Two turbochargers mounted in the valley of the engine and a 164-hp electric motor (sandwiched between the engine and the eight-speed transmission) fatten the bottom end of the torque curve and deliver it immediately. The power delivery feels more like that of a Porsche 918 Spyder than a Ferrari 458 Italia—a bungee jump instead of a roller coaster.
With a small 7.45-kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted behind the seats, the 296 can drive for about 10 mild miles on pure electric power. This capability is more about traversing carbon-free downtown districts or sneaking away undetected than about living the EV life. Also unlike many earlier hybrid sports cars—the 918, the NSX, the current SF90—the 296 is rear-wheel drive.
The roof-mounted wing directs airflow down toward the radiator intakes and the rear spoiler.
LORENZO MARCINNO
That rear-drive configuration makes the 296 feel a bit closer to conventional sports cars (such as Ferrari’s own F8 Tributo), but this car is unconventional in more than just its power delivery. Its steering system gets electric assist, which does nothing to diminish accuracy or immediacy, but it doesn’t have the granular feel of old-school unassisted or even hydraulically assisted arrangements. That means it’s not satisfying by old steering standards, but it is satisfying next to its modern competitors.
In another worrying electrical takeover, the stunningly effective calipers are commanded through a brake-by-wire system. And, like the steering, feedback through the short-travel pedal can initially feel vague. But the concerns were largely unfounded. Once your brain adjusts slightly to the travel and feel, slowing the car smoothly and progressively becomes straightforward. Driving the lighter-weight, track-oriented Assetto Fiorano version of the car on a circuit, we found the brakes to be absolutely tireless, and the advanced ABS allowed for savage application without burying someone else’s $300,000-plus car into a wall.
Riding on a shorter wheelbase than the V-8- powered F8 Tributo, the 296 is agile, carving sharp fine lines through corners. But it’s also slightly heavier (about three percent), uses electronically adjustable dampers, and has a network of sensors and computers that would reduce your average IT guy to a pool of anxiety. An automatically deploying rear spoiler motors out from a slot between the taillights and curves up the way a cat licks its own nose. A Caterham 7 this is not. Purity was left at the altar of performance long ago.
And like it or not, Ferrari has for more than a decade embraced technology to a greater degree than most sports-car makers. Consequently, the 296 GTB feels not like an improved version of a graunchy old mechanical device being ushered down the road, but like an obedient cruise missile.
This is a sports car of the modern era, one that will likely replace the V-8-powered mid-engine car in Ferrari’s lineup. While we bemoan the loss of purely analog, strictly gas-powered performance cars, the 296 GTB reminds us that the future can’t be like the past, but it can be every bit as good.
Specifications
Specifications
2022 Ferrari 296 GTB
PRICE
$317,986 (base)
ENGINE
3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 + electric motor-generator
OUTPUT819 @ 8000 rpm
546 lb-ft @ 6250 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed dual-clutch automatic
CURB WEIGHT
3700 lb
0-60
2.9 seconds
Keyword: The Ferrari 296 GTB Is an Obedient Cruise Missile