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Ferrari 296 GTB road test: A hybrid supercar you could use every day?
It’s not Maranello’s first hybrid machine, but the 819-bhp 296 GTB might just be its best. Vicki Butler Henderson explains how this Ferrari offers speed when you want it, and stealthiness when you don’t.
With prices starting from £242,000, it feels faintly ridiculous to call the new 296 GTB a “mainstream” Ferrari. Technically though, as this 200-mph, mid-engined missile follows the likes of 488 and F8 in its layout — albeit with two fewer cylinders — it is one of the less exclusive prancing horses in the stable.
However, the DriverReviews host quickly discovers that when it comes to styling and performance, it’s a Ferrari through and through. For one, though the bold red and blue paint scheme might not be to all tastes, it references the brand’s heritage by doffing a cap to Ferrari’s first UK importer: Maranello Concessionaires.
Similarly, the exterior styling — with its flying buttresses, short wheelbase, and wraparound windscreen — apes the great 250 LM of the 1960s. Although, the 296’s integrated active rear spoiler is one feature that classic could only dream of sporting.
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A tech-laden interior also highlights that this is no vintage machine. And, on the whole, Vicki is impressed. While the carbon-fibre racing buckets are an exorbitant option at £6,000, the extra support they provide is invaluable when utilising the 296’s 2.9 second 0-60 mph sprint and carving through corners with standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S rubber. Though she notes that the mobile wireless charging pad doesn’t combat G-forces quite so admirably.
There’s certainly nothing junior or “entry-level” about the performance, either. As the brand’s first real foray into V6 engines (the Dino wasn’t marketed as a full-fat Ferrari), the new 6-pot hybrid powertrain is a commendable effort. As she races up the rev range and rattles off gears on the flappy-paddle gearbox, Vicki revels in the unrelenting thrust and sonorous exhaust note. According to Ferrari, the new 2.9-litre engine sounds so spine-tingling, its own engineers call it the Piccolo (little) V12.
But what’s it like when you switch off that howling V6 and slip into the serene and silent EV mode? We think this could be the perfect Ferrari for well-heeled city-dwellers who want to pootle through weekday traffic in EV mode, and then fire up the V6 for a trackday blast at the weekend.
You’ll need to watch the video to find out if the 296 GTB can play calming Dr Jekyll as well as vicious Mr Hyde…
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