The Changing Motoring World The world of motoring has changed. Once upon a time, the car was a novelty, only to be bought by the elite, but now there are more models by manufacturers than animals in the world. Not that long ago, SUVs and 4x4s were the vehicles purchased only by silly women in Cheshire and farmers. They often had a choice between a Land Cruiser, a Cayenne, a G Wagon and whatever vehicle Land Rover could offer that hadn’t been stolen. Nowadays, everyone wants one because a higher-up vehicle means a less likely chance of death in a collision. SUVs range from the cheap, ugly, and bouncy Dacia Duster to the expensive and even bouncier Aston Martin DBX. It’s the same story with the electric car, once upon a time it was a novelty only available on a select few superminis and if you wanted to be one of the “Gram” types without caring for build quality or refinement, a Tesla. Nowadays Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Jaguar and even Lotus of all companies have a full stocklist of EVs that seem to have come out of nowhere. Supercars seemed to have embraced change as well, gone are the days of rock and roll Lambos bellowing their V12s down Sheikh Zayed Road burning carbon dioxide every 4 seconds. Now everything is turbocharged and hybridised to ensure Lucy the Leopard has another couple of years of life in her. Ferrari’s Changes Ferrari, shockingly is very much at the forefront of this change in climate, back when I was growing up, the idea that Ferrari would be building production hybrids or SUVs seemed almost laughable. However, times have changed and so it seems has the prancing horse. Firstly there’s the Purosangue, a large, AWD, four-door, four-seater “FUV” that is currently making Enzo turn in his grave. And alongside that, is the car I’ve recently driven, the most powerful mass-produced Ferrari, (if you can call it that), ever made. The twin-turbocharged V6, hybrid-powered, eco-bear friendly, 296 GTB. This car sits as the latest Ferrari’s popular and infamous “baby mid-engine” line-up, a clear follow-up from the likes of the stupendously capable 488, the delicate and dainty 355, the scary and psychopathic 430 Scuderia and my favourite car ever made, the amazingly breath-taking god-sending 458. This has forever been my favourite range in Ferrari’s line-up, so how on earth can some Johnny polar bear-tailored, measly turbocharged six-cylinder hybrid wallflower possibly earn the right, to be a follow-on in this range of gods? V6 and Hybrid, Not Uncommon in a Fezza Well, it’s worth noting, that in the very distant past, Ferrari’s first ever mid-engine road car, the very pretty 246 GT Dino, was also powered by a V6. And that this isn’t the prancing horse’s first dabble into the world of Hybrids. For starters, there was the beautiful and beguiling Ferrari “The Ferrari” (LaFerrari), Ferrari’s flagship of the last decade, a core member of what petrolheads including myself dub, the “Hypercar Holy Trinity”. A V12 963bhp monster that utilised a KERS system for added speed, traction and braking. Alongside the mental McLaren P1 and revolutionary Porsche 918, it proved that hybrids could be used not just to make a car more economical but faster and more responsive. In Formula One, the cars used by Charles LeClerc, Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, all used a similar system to that in the LaFerrari. And just before the 296 was a thing, Ferrari launched the SF90, an enormous 1000bhp mini hypercar that followed a principle to the traditional plug-in hybrid setup you’d find in a Toyota Prius as opposed to the complicated KERS system, Ferrari tended to use. So on that, basis, maybe the 296 isn’t a complete disaster like one would first think. Breath-Taking Beauty Certainly, on the styling front, disaster is far from the word I’d use. Ferrari’s supercars have always been mixed when it comes to styling, whilst some like the 458, 488 and 308 glide the roads with more grace than Grace Kelly herself, others like the F430, 360 and the short-lived F8 Tributo have rather the opposite effect. The F8 especially was a discordant mess in terms of styling, too fussy at the front and too much “Tribute” at the back. Thankfully the styling team at Ferrari seemed to get their heads straight when it came to the 296. This is an achingly beautiful car, with a very clean un deterred front, a very classically designed middle and from the rear especially, is proportionately perfect. This might just be the most beautiful car on sale today, this or the Roma for sure. My test car was in Giallo yellow and it was sublime to behold. But this car isn’t just a moving Mona Lisa on four wheels, it is way more than that. A Decent Soundtrack Read More Photos: Ferrari are planning to release a hardcore lightweight variant of the brilliant 296 Climbing into the car and starting it up was certainly an indescribable action because it didn’t shout or scream or awaken the sounds of gods like a traditional Ferrari, more so it hummed, as silently as a nun. It has an EV range of about eight miles, but given this car’s a hybrid, you won’t need to worry about running out of EV power, for after a short while, its engine bursts into life. I had deep reservations about Ferrari using a twin-turbocharged V6 because generally, a twin-turbocharged six-cylinder is about as exciting as Costco chicken. Certainly, it’s very nutritious and very capable but it’s bland and lacks soul like most other engines. However, from inside the cabin, it would appear the boffins at Ferrari have cracked the impossible. The 296 doesn’t sound like a vacuum cleaner, it sounds like a Ferrari. There’s a baleful aura to the car above 5000rpm, that sounds as real as a whale’s outcry. Certainly, I wholeheartedly believe Ferrari’s statement about this engine being a “piccolino V12” because it certainly sounds like one. Redefines what Speed Is However the soundtrack isn’t the most impressive aspect of the 296, nor is it the jaw-dropping styling, it’s the feeling of what happens when your right foot finds itself buried into the carpet. There’s hypercar fast, there’s fighter jet fast, there’s lightning fast, there’s bullet fast and then there’s 296 fast. This car isn’t just rapid, it redefines what speed is As mentioned above the 296 is fitted with a 2.9L twin-turbocharged V6, which I had initially assumed they had borrowed from Alfa Romeo, as their Quadrifoglio saloon uses a similar sized engine, that first found its routes in Ferrari’s California T. However, recently Ferrari split as their own individual company from the Stellantis group of which Alfa and Maserati are owned by, so the boffins had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a brand new twin-turbocharged V6. From which Ferrari managed to extract a staggering 654 hp and 314 lb-ft of torque. Which when combined with the electric motor (that generates 165 hp and 232 lb-ft), grants a whopping total output of 819hp and 546 lb-ft of torque. Couple that with the super-quick dual-clutch gearbox and the results are breath-taking. Ferrari claims the 296 does 0-60 in 2.7 seconds and flat out will max at 205mph but with all due respect when it comes to underestimating their figures this would be a complete fib. This car doesn’t accelerate it shoots off like a bullet, it gains speed so fast that your eyeballs roll in opposite directions to the back of your skull. It makes a McLaren 750S feel like a rowing boat. What’s particularly amazing is how Ferrari has managed to completely eliminate any form of turbo lag in the power delivery from the 296. One second you're two miles away from the end of a corner and in a blink you’re at the end. Handles like a Dream But just as staggering as the speed is the handling. Normally hybrid performance cars are criticised for the added weight and subsequent understeer that results. But in the 296, it’s a very different story. Whilst at nearly 1.6 tonnes, it is pretty hefty for a Ferrari, being mid-engine means a low centre of gravity and because of the relatively small engine the chassis could afford to have a relatively short wheelbase. This is a car that dances from corner to corner with the balance of a Lancia Stratos and the finesse of a Ballerina. The steering is light and immediate, the 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox is crisp and responsive and the whole car feels engineered as an extension of yourself, which is exactly how a Ferrari should feel. As a feat of engineering to describe the 296 as brilliant or majestic doesn’t quite do it justice, it’s way beyond that. It’s a genuine game-changer, a fantastical wonderous piece of engineering that reminds us all why Ferrari is so far ahead of all of its rivals. The Flaws of the 296 However, there are a few gripes. For starters, I myself felt rather underwhelmed by the interior, which seemed more Elon Musk than Enzo Ferrari. Filled with countless touchpad icons all covering the steering wheel for doing certain all the relevant car-like stuff i.e. the lights, the indicators etc. The worst for me was the starter button, which required a simple touch when starting the engine as opposed to a physical button or key. That in my opinion is detrimental. It completely removes from the experience and the thrill of starting a Ferrari. The second issue is that colossal amount of power, it was epic and thrilling on a track, but somehow, I had the feeling that this power would never be fully exploited on the roads. In the rear world of bumps, crests and potholes, you’re never going to use 819 horsepower to the fullest. So why spend over $340,000 on a car you can barely use? Speaking of the price, it’s way too much, plus with options you’re looking at a car well north of $400,000. For the baby Ferrari is ridiculous. Not to mention, whilst I had no issues with my car, I have heard stories of 296s going kaboom and failing. People love to bash McLaren for reliability issues, well the 296 isn’t that far off. An Artificial Car: More iRobot than iFerrari But the biggest issue with this car for me is the feeling you get when driving yet. Yes it is beautifully balanced, monstrously fast and has that magical Ferrari feel. But you get the sense, it’s almost been engineered to feel like a Ferrari rather than “naturally” feeling like one. Everything about this car feels artificial. The steering, the brakes, the power and especially the noise all feel very unnatural, almost as though ChatGPT has been used to come up with a programme on what a Ferrari should feel like. To most that would be fine, but to me, it just felt unnatural. This then is a hard car to sum up because there are so many factors that are brilliant. The looks, the engineering, the hybrid setup, the monstrous horsepower that results, the ballistic speed and the sharp handling. But with that interior and especially this artificial feel, the 296 left me feeling rather strange and pretty cold. Let me put it this way, you’ve all heard of the beyond burger. A veggie burger that most say tastes like a real beef burger. Now as a casual eater, you won’t be able to tell the difference. But if you are Gordon Ramsay or a Burger Aficionado, you will. You will say the Beyond Burger tastes artificial and somewhat fake. That’s a similar story of what I experienced with the 296. No doubting it’s a brilliant car, beautiful to behold, easy to use, handles like a dream and takes speed to an all new high. But as someone who considers themselves, a Ferrari aficionado and I can tell you straight, the 296 lacks soul. I feel like the problem stems from Ferrari, like all manufacturers being forced to meet new regulations in this EV climax we live in. No doubt, they've done a cracking job, creating a car that is beautiful, lovely to drive and handles like a dream. But I desire something more, something you drive, something that feels real. Something the 296 fails to offer. F1rstMotors Facts and FiguresManufacturerFerrari S.p.AModel296 GTBYear of Release2022Engine2.9l Twin-Turbo V6 with single Arial Flux MotorHorsepower819 horsepowerTorque546 lb–ft0–62mph (100km/h)2.7 secondsTop Speed205mph (330 km/h)Weight1,620kg (1.6 tonnes)Power to Weight506 hp per tonneGearbox8-speed-dual-clutchDriven WheelsRear-Wheel-DriveRivalsLamborghini Temerario, McLaren ArturaMehraj’s Score8/10 Source: Ferrari
