New Ferrari 296 GTB | evo REVIEW

This is the Ferrari 296 GTB

A simple, traditional, very Ferrari name for what is a thoroughly modern and advanced kind of supercar

First things first, its staggering power figure, an incredible 830 horsepower. The 296 GTB combines a ferocious all-new 3-litre twin-turbo V6 that makes a huge 663 horsepower

on its own with an electric motor making up the rest. It's a plug-in hybrid with an EV-only range

of around 15 miles but unlike the SF90 it's rear-wheel drive only. Weight is quoted as 1,470

kilograms but remember that's a dry figure and with all the lightweight options. Looks sure

they're subjective but for what it's worth I happen to think it's gorgeous when you see it in the

metal. That body's aluminium once again but Ferrari has shortened the wheelbase by 50 millimetres

compared to the old V8s in pursuit of a more agile chassis. Ferrari says that most of all the 296

is all about being fun to drive. We've come to southern Spain to have our first drive of the car

and find out. So let's get straight into how fast. Well I've got to be honest with you

it is shockingly fast. I mean it's the sort of rearrange your internal organs fast. It's fierce

I mean, it's really, really, really fierce. But part of what makes it so fast is the hybrid system fills in the gaps

so it doesn't really feel like it has any turbo lag. It has an amazing throttle response

And it also has this low and mid-range urge, which is totally addictive

We're on some really twisty mountain roads now. And this thing is so much fun It a very delicate car Slightly surprising because remember it not light

It's got that classic Ferrari light, very quick steering rack. So you can't put too much of an input in

You'll just make the car nervous and actually sort of antagonize the car if you like

But once you're on its wavelength, once you're speaking 296 language, then you really can get a great feeling for what it's doing

It just flows down the road, it rides so well, and you're just making these little adjustments

The beautiful thing about what Ferrari have managed is that it doesn't feel nervous

So it's really agile, but there's never a point where you're going, oh, God, that's a bit, oh, that's a bit, oh, I'm not sure about that

Not at all. And part of not feeling nervous is that pretty quickly you realise that you can take some liberties with it

You can work up to the limit. And, yeah, it's an 830 horsepower Ferrari

But as ludicrous as this sounds, and I'm saying these words and thinking this sounds crazy

but it's not actually that scary. because you soon realise it's got such a fabulous balance

Now, maybe that's because the masses are contained so low. Remember that little V6 on the floor

I'm sure that makes a difference as well, but it really feels like when you turn

it feels like the car pivots beneath you and you know exactly what it's doing

Look, here's a corner. Every time I turn, it's like the car just does that

slightly sits down on that rear haunch and it's ready to go what do you want to do it says what

do you want to do you want to push a bit harder more throttle a little bit more throttle build up

to the limit start to understair ever so slightly if it's a really tight corner you might start to

feel that and it'll let you know or if you're more aggressive with the throttle so at that stage

where it's kind of saying yeah okay i'll start to step out of the rear i mean that's astonishing to

be kind of that clear and friendly with this level of performance. Something else that

Ferrari have got really right is the brake pedal because the pedal's nice and firm but

you can really get a good feeling, an ease of modulation that means you can judge your

braking I not thought about it once and I always think that the acid test right If it doesn come into your mind then clearly it been set right I think this car sounds really good Of course it does rev high limits at 8 RPM which for a turbo engine is really good going So you got that real

range. It never sounds coarse, it never sounds gritty, it never sounds harsh. It's got a

lovely growl lowdown. Pretty sonorous at higher revs as well. But for me, the best bit

is the turbo noise and so if I let it build up some boost pressure

here we go a bit of a gradient let's try fourth gear well I think that's more than enough of my ludicrous turbo impressions and it's time now

to head to the Monte Blanco circuit for this Ferrari provides cars equipped with the Fiorano

pack which saves up to 15 kilos and features even more trick multi-matic dampers amongst some other

stuff plus they were also fitted with the optional michelin cup 2 r tires unlike the 4s michellins

of our road car just a handful of laps is enough to confirm that a 296 has the ability to shrink

alarmingly just about any straight and b that it's a proper live wire and the more you peel back the

electronic systems the more it's keen to rotate into a corner to oversteer or do pretty much

anything else you might want it to do if you so command it. It requires a smooth precise driving style

Let's get some lights on the steering wheel flashing. That's over 270 up to 280

Being a good boy keeping that distance. Apparently they've already lost a lot of windscreens

We don't want to add to the bill. keep eye on the line Get it stopped for that one

What did I say? Go gear high this lap? Yep. There's that torque. It's just there, isn't

it? Little devil on your shoulder. Look at the way you can turn it in on the brakes as

Well, fantastic rotation there. Great stability of the braking, no problems there. Credit

turned in, nice. And he's flashing his hazards so I think that is game over. That was with

CT off so shots of those laps to feel how these new systems are really working. If you

go to ESC off it's just you and the ABS but Ferrari have put an awful lot of work into

these new systems and you can really feel how they give you so much leeway with the

car to do things to get it moving around without giving you that nannying restraint that systems

used to do. The aircon appears to be off. It's pretty warm in here now

But that's really impressive. What then to make of the 296 GTB overall

Comfortable, reasonably practical and silent running one moment. Then an absolute animal of a machine the next

Of almost overwhelming power, which regardless of its weight feels amazingly nimble, playful and surprisingly exploitable too

Based on this first acquaintance, Ferrari has created something very special indeed