Ferrari 296 GTB debuts with hybrid V6

Before the reveal of the Ferrari 296 GTB, some suspected a new V6 model in the range would be the return of a Dino-style entry level sports car to attract new buyers to the Ferrari brand.

The 296 GTB is not that.

With a twin-turbo V6 making 488kW, plus a 122kW electric motor for a total of 610kW and 740Nm, the Ferrari 296 GTB is one of the fastest cars to tackle the brand’s Fiorano test track.

With the same lap time as a Ferrari F12tdf, 1 minute and 21 seconds, it’s only a little more than a second slower than the LaFerrari, and two slower than the SF90 Stradale.

With performance like that – and as marketing boss Enrico Galliera put it – the Dino badge simply wouldn’t suit.

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“Dino is one of the most iconic concepts in Ferrari’s history… but it didn’t carry a Ferrari badge,” he told journalists during the reveal.

He’s right on a technicality, the Dino only wore a Ferrari badge in its final, V8-only iteration.

“The 296 GTB doesn’t share this positioning… it isn’t an entry model. It would have been a nice marketing tool… but we decided to give this model some dignity.”

Dignity comes in the form of the aforementioned powertrain (linked to an 8-speed DCT), completely new and designed by Ferrari specifically for this application, Maranello claims.

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This is a somewhat unsubtle way for Ferrari to deny links between this engine and the Nettuno V6 in the Maserati MC20, which shares a bore and stroke. To Ferrari’s credit, Modena’s V6 is 3.0-litres.

The 296 GTB’s engine (codenamed F163) has another major difference, its V angle of 120 degrees. This allowed not only for a lower powertrain centre of gravity, but also for straighter exhaust plumbing and more space for the turbos to be nestled within the V, the first time Maranello has done so.

Oh, and it revs to 8500rpm. If that’s not your thing, the 296 GTB can also drive entirely under electric power for a maximum 25km, up to a top 135km/h speed.

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This engine, paired with the 7.45kWh battery and rear electric motor, can launch the RWD 296 GTB to 100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, Ferrari says, and to 200km/h in 7.3sec. Its 11-inch-wide tyres at the rear surely help with traction here, though its dry weight of 1470kg isn’t the most insubstantial amongst the short list of hybrid V6 sports cars.

The McLaren Artura weighs 1395kg dry, and claims the same 0-100km/h with 110kW and 20Nm less. Its V6, funnily enough, is also banked at 120 degrees and revs to 8500rpm.

Finally, the 296 is available with an optional Assetto Fiorano package, which adds adjustable Multimatic shocks for track driving, downforce-focused carbon-fibre additions to the front bumper, a lighter Lexan rear window, and more carbon-fibre for lightweighting. Some structural elements like the door panels also are altered for this pack, saving a little over 12kg.

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Ferrari 296 GTB Assetto Fiorano

In Australia, pricing and arrival of the 296 GTB is yet to be confirmed, though the full-fat Fiorano version will cost 302,000 Euro to buyers in Italy, while the regular version is 269,000 Euro. Given that directly equates to A$475,700 or A$423,600 respectively, the 296 here is in the half-million dollar car region.

The first left-hand drive cars will be delivered in early 2022, with right-hook markets to follow afterwards.