When Very Fast Isn’t Fast Enough, With The Ferrari 296 Speciale & 296 Speciale A

For those lucky enough to experience the thrills of Ferrari’s mid-engined hybrid sports car, the 296 GTB, it seems no one would consider it down on power or a bit sluggish. It’s more likely the exact opposite, as the twin-turbo V6 engine in the back, assisted by a battery pack and electric motors, makes a hefty 830bhp in standard trim. But Ferrari seemingly felt it could do with something more, something extra, something special. So, as these things tend to go, there’s now a pair of new “baby” Ferraris in town: the 296 Speciale and 296 Speciale A. 

The 296 GTB’s lineage goes back a long way, as it’s the successor to monumental cars such as the 360, the F430, the 458 and 488. And just like all of those, the Speciale turns things up to 11, in a similar way the Stradale did for the 360, the Scuderia for the F430 and so on. Simply put, it’s the entry-level Ferrari with a bit of extra ‘get-up-and-go!’ over the standard one. And the term entry-level is used very loosely here…

But there’s more to the 296 GTB and the new Speciale and Speciale A derivatives than that, as the Italian manufacturer labelled it as the “first real Ferrari with a V6 engine”. To me, that sort of tarnishes the legacy of the wonderfully sexy Dino, one of the stars of the 1970s TV show The Persuaders, for those who’ve been around long enough to remember that! It seems like that’s still not worthy of the Ferrari badge and name, according to the folks in Maranello. Oh well… Nevertheless, the 296 GTB was launched with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo 120° V6 engine, assisted by an electric motor. The combined output is 830 horsepower, which is enough to launch the 296 GTB from standstill to 100kph in 2.9 seconds and soldier on to a top speed of over 330kph. Not anymore, though, as the dial gets turned to 11!

296 Speciale & 296 Speciale A

Whenever Ferrari starts adding extra names to cars, it goes without saying that you should pay a bit more attention than usual. While the sharply penned sports, super, and hypercars demand enough attention already with their looks, it’s what’s written on the back that makes something special, something extra special. From Stradale to Scuderia, and from Pista to, well, Speciale, such terms usually indicate a limited production car, with a bit less weight, a bit more power, and a lot more money involved! That scenario also applies to the new Ferrari 296 Speciale and 196 Speciale A. The weight drops about 60 kilos each, with the power bumped up to a staggering 868bhp!

The power increase doesn’t sound too insane on its own, as we’re dealing with an increase of just 49 horsepower. About two-thirds of that comes from a change in the mapping for the turbos, with the rest coming from the hybrid part of the drivetrain. But it’s everything else around it that makes for an undoubtedly knife-edge thrill ride. Sure, most of us aren’t even close to capable of extracting every last ounce of performance the two have to offer, but to know that not only sprint times go down and top speeds go up, but also laptimes drop instantly, is… nice, I guess? Jokes aside, when sent around Ferrari’s own Fiorano test track, the 296 Speciale clocked a 1:19 laptime, which is 2 seconds faster than its non-Speciale sibling!

The weight loss is due to the extensive use of lightweight materials both inside and out, but not everything comes as standard. If you were to go over the options list in detail and tick a box here or there, the weight should go down even more. Straight from the factory, a 296 Speciale or 296 Speciale A comes with lightweight forged alloy wheels, but you can also select full carbon fibre wheels. Mechanically, the engine gets a ton of titanium components, such as head studs, bolts, springs, exhaust and so on. Even the engine block itself and the crank case are milled down to save a few grams. The claimed weight loss means the 296 Speciale, the coupe, now weighs 1,410kgs in its lightest form (all boxes ticked), and the drop-top 269 Speciale A (A for Aperta, Ferrari’s way of saying it has a removable hardtop) weighs 1,460kgs.

performance & emotions, maximised

It’s not just about the internal mechanics and dropping a kilo here or there, though, as the exterior has also been honed to increase aerodynamic efficiency. The new front air dam channels air into the car and through various channels for downforce and cooling, for instance. There are several slats and an air vent to extract air, heat and pressure from underneath the nose and send it over the windscreen. Two aerofoils on the rear of the car provide additional downforce and stability at high speeds, while the new diffuser sucks the car down to the road to make it stick in cornering. It’s said to have 20% more downforce at 150mph than the cars these Speciale models are based on.

The engineers at Maranello have also enhanced the sound of the car, although no rolling footage is available yet to attest to that all too important sensational element of driving. Blipping when you change down through the gears, screaming at the top of its lungs when you reach the rev limiter. Admittedly, it doesn’t produce the belching howl of a high-strung V12, or Dodici Cillindri in Italian, but the “base” 296 GTB surely sounds good on its own. Now imagine what the Speciale variants would sound like with a finely tuned titanium exhaust system. Gives me goosebumps thinking of what it would feel, smell, and sound like already!

And then there’s the interior. Stepping into the 296 Speciale means seating yourself in tightly-wrapped bucket seats. There’s a big digital screen in front of you telling you all you need to know. There are shift lights in the steering wheels to help you nail every upshift if you feel like paddling through the gears yourself. There’s a touchscreen for the passenger with a selection of controls and information. And of course, among the acres of suede, Alcantara and leather, there’s plenty of exposed carbon fibre to behold. Honestly, it looks like a very fine place to be!

And to send even more thrills down your spine, the 296 Speciale and 296 Speciale A, the famous Manetino driving mode selector now also has a ‘Qualifying’ setting. This ramps up the boost from the electric motor when exiting a corner. And the beauty is that the system learns the way you push the car into and out of corners, ensuring you don’t trash the car, and the car doesn’t run wild under you. To a certain extent, of course, as we all know, there’s no 100% safety net for blatant over-confidence. But let’s not dwell on that too long.

All this comes at a hefty chunk of change, obviously, as a Ferrari 296 Speciale comes at a price of EUR 407,000 (depending on VAT) and chopping the roof of it means you have to shell out EUR 462,000 (depending on VAT). And that’s before you run wild with the options list. Regardless of all this, and knowing full well this isn’t a car that the vast majority can go out and buy (budget restraints, ‘spending’ history with Ferrari, and all that), I would very much LOVE to have a go!

For more information, please visit Ferrari.com.

Editorial Note: The information sourced for and images portrayed in this article are provided and used with permission of Ferrari S.p.A. unless stated otherwise.