No one, after driving the 819hp Ferrari 296 GTB hybrid comes away saying, “What that needs is a bit less weight and a bit more power.” Not a single person. Except, it seems, Ferrari engineers. Because the new Ferrari 296 Speciale has dropped 60kg and increased horsepower to 868hp. Okay, so they’re relatively modest increases on what was an already very powerful ‘baby’ Ferrari, but probably more pertinent is that Ferrari is talking about the Speciale being more fun—and intense—to drive.
So what else is new? Well, downforce is apparently up by 20% (at 240mph, but that’s not insanely fast on track). The Speciale rides lower and corners faster than the standard car, brakes and steers with even more precision, and contains more titanium than an Airbus A380. And it also comes as a convertible. Albeit a convertible that’s 50kg heavier than the coupe.
It’s the coupe that will be for the purists. And there’s a storied family tree to refer to—this is the 296-generation’s expression of such luminaries as the 360 Challenge Stradale, the F430 Scuderia, the 458 Speciale, and the 488 Pista. Not a single one of which you’d kick out of a dream garage. And the recipe is largely cribbed from those cars: lighter, faster, more. But definitely cranked in the direction of driving satisfaction.
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The horsepower uplift is largely inconsequential for a turbocharged hybrid, 36hp soothed from the engine via different boost strategies for the turbos—inspired by the 296 Challenge car’s mapping—and a whole host of forged pistons and titanium crankshafts. The electric motor sandwiched between the 3.0-liter V6 and the eight-speed gearbox is now rated at 177hp, giving that 868hp total or a modest 49hp more than the GTB, but that’s a motor that now provides a little torque boost to the ’box for even faster and “more emotional” shifts.
As far as the weight loss, it’s not entirely baked in. Carbon bumpers, engine cover, and wheels (lightweight forged wheels are standard) are options, but liberal use of titanium for the engine internals, head studs, all fastenings, the springs (on Multimatic shocks), exhaust, and various other bits save quite a bit, while the engine block and crankcase have been shaved to remove excess metal. Even the turbo is lighter. But as with any Ferrari, it’ll cost a little more to save all the weight possible to get the car to the 1,410kg dry weight (1,460kg for the Spider).
It looks different, too. The front now features an ‘aero damper’ that channels air from the front bumper under the car to the top of the front hood and over the windshield, mostly for stability purposes. There are pressure-relieving vents over the front wheel arches and vestigial batwings aft of the rear intakes on the rear three-quarter panels, themselves voiding air from the back wheels.
Apart from stabilizing the back of the car and providing extra downforce, those aerofoils also work in conjunction with the active rear spoiler, which operates in a similar manner to the GTB, but now with a ‘mid’ setting to go with the low-drag mode and high-downforce/airbrake position. So there’s a Goldilocks moment in there somewhere.
The whole point here isn’t necessarily the numbers. Ferrari says there are five quantifiable parameters that should increase driving satisfaction if you dial them up. So there’s lateral and longitudinal acceleration, shifting, braking, and sound. All of which are increased to varying degrees in the 296 Speciale. Though the numbers themselves aren’t to be sniffed at—0-100kph in 2.8sec, more than 330kph top speed, a Fiorano laptime of 1min 19sec where a GTB manages 1min 21sec. That’s not a small amount on such a small track.
There’s also a new mode called ‘Qualify,’ which manages the boost from the e-motor when exiting corners to help cull lap times. The control systems can trim the boost to always deliver a shove that can be maintained without boiling the system, and there’s a specific display on the right-hand side of the rev counter that displays how many extra boost bursts are left. And it’ll learn the circuit to make sure: At Fiorano, for instance, it uses 14 hits over two laps, while at the Mugello track, the function allows for 15 boost bursts over one.
The good news is that this isn’t a limited-run car, either. Though there’s a limited time for production (which limits numbers, inherently) and you have to be what’s called an ‘active customer’ for Ferrari—so you have to have bought some sort of Ferrari in the past five years. And then be far enough up the waiting list. So if you have €407,000 (around P25.5 million) for the Coupe or €462,000 (roughly P29 million) for the Spider, you’re in luck—with prices varying according to local tax (and tariff) needs.
More photos of the Ferrari 296 Speciale:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
