Driving Ferrari’s F1-inspired 296 GTB supercar

Like the stars of Formula 1, the latest supercar combines a turbocharged V6 with hybrid power to deliver shattering performance.

Ferrari’s 296 GTB is just around the corner.

Is it possible for a V6 to make an authentically Ferrari noise?

Absolutely, as the new Ferrari 296 GTB is proving. The single central exhaust outlet of its equally new twin-turbo 3.0-litre six sings a spine-tingling tune at high revs.

It sounds more like one of Ferrari’s big non-turbo V12s, even though the 296 GTB’s engine is less than half the size. There’s performance, too.

Ferrari’s 296 GTB redefines makes hybrid performance more accessible.

Boosted by the electric motor of its hybrid system, it makes more power than every twin-turbo V8 or V12 Ferrari road car in production today … except one.

That exception is the $846,888 SF90 Stradale, Ferrari’s first-ever plug-in hybrid. Launched in 2020, it’s the company’s most expensive road car. And the fastest it’s ever produced.

Like Ferrari’s F1 car, the 296 GTB has a turbo V6 hybrid engine. Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

At $568,300, the 296 GTB costs much less than the SF90 Stradale. But it’s also priced well above Ferrari’s V8-powered F8 Tributo sports car, reflecting the new V6 hybrid’s performance advantage.

The 296 GTB’s all-new engine is a very unusual V6. Most have a V angle of 60 or 90 degrees; the Ferrari engine’s is 120 degrees.

The 296 GTB’s wide angle structure allows Ferrari to place turbos inside the ‘vee’.

This brings a number of advantages. The engine is lower, lighter and more compact, and there’s plenty of space in the wide valley between each row of three cylinders for a pair of turbochargers. It’s the first Ferrari road car engine with its turbos on top in what’s known as a ‘hot V’ layout.

A digital dashboard, F1-inspired steering wheel and passenger readout feature in the cabin.

From the mid-mounted engine’s turbos the exhaust system heads back to the car’s tail. It’s a short, straight trip. And this, along with the V6’s equally-spaced firing intervals, is the secret to the 296 GTB’s sound.

The effect is to amplify the high-frequency treble notes the V6 produces as it nears its 8500rpm cutout. This sound is the reason Ferrari engineers nicknamed the F163 the ‘little V12’ during its development.

A single rear exhaust opening represents a departure from modern Ferraris.

Between the 296 GTB’s engine and eight-speed double clutch transmission is an axial-flux electric motor made by UK specialists Yasa. “We call it a pizza,” one Ferrari engineer explains, because of its large diameter and slimness.

It’s a spicy one. With maximum power and torque outputs of 122kW and 315Nm, it could easily power an EV all by itself.

The 611kW machine promises extreme performance. Picture: Keryn Stevens

It adds a big boost to the hefty 488kW and 740Nm delivered by the V6, and gives the sensational acceleration of the 296 GTB a different character than Ferraris with the company’s twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8.

There’s more low-end kick, and the instant power of the electric motor sharpens throttle response everywhere. While the V6 and e-motor always work together in Performance and Qualifying drivetrain modes, the default mode on start-up is Hybrid.

John Carey tested the Ferrari 296 GTB on road and track.

A clutch between the V6 and e-motor enables the two power sources to be decoupled. In Hybrid the engine often shuts down in normal public road driving. Select eDrive instead and the 296 GTB will use only electric power until its small rechargeable battery pack is depleted. The Ferrari will cover around 25km of city driving on electricity alone, engineers estimate.

The Ferrari 296 GTB shuts down its engine to save fuel on the road.

Overall, the hybrid drivetrain is more compact than Ferrari’s V8. The company’s chassis engineers took advantage of this to give the 296 GTB a shorter wheelbase than the V8, a move designed to enhance agility.

Ferrari’s exterior designers drew inspiration from the revered 250 LM Le Mans racer of the 1960s. The echoes are loudest seen from the rear three-quarter, easily its best view.

Rear-end styling is inspired by classic Le Mans racers.

The cosy interior uses the same digital instrument display unit seen in the SF90 Stradale and Roma. It’s an environment with both tech and quality worthy of a Ferrari, which wasn’t always the case until quite recent times.

And the driving experience is utterly Ferrari. The 296 GTB features the best chassis electronics in the business, and they make this sensationally fast car remarkably easy to drive at its limits.

Driving a 296 GTB fitted with the $73,299 Assetto Fiorano performance package on the track, the most noticeable advance is in slowing. Updates to Ferrari’s ABS software enable impossibly late braking without loss of stability.

The Assetto Fiorano pack is pitched toward trackday enthusiasts.

But the precise steering is also sensational, the snappy-shifting transmission a joy to use and the overall handling stellar.

It may have only a V6, it may be a plug-in hybrid, but the 296 GTB has true Ferrari talent … and a voice to match.

Ferrari 296 GTB

Price: $568,300 plus options and on-road costs

Engine: 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo plug-in hybrid; 488kW/740Nm

Motor: 122kW/315Nm

Performance: 0-100KM/H 2.9 secs, 330km/h