Ferrari’s History of Lightweight Baby Supercars

Believe it or not, Ferrari have been building hardcore lightweight variants of their mid-engine baby supercars for almost forty years. The recipe has always been the same, tweak the engine to produce more, tighten up the chassis and steering rack, lighten the car by nearly 100kg and up the price a fair bit.

Seems like a rip-off at first but what’s resulted are some of the most loved and cherished Ferraris in history. Cars like the legendary 288 GTO, the surprisingly brilliant 348 Competizione, the much cherished 360 Challenge Stradale, the overwhelmingly brilliant 488 Pista and the simply spectacular 458 Speciale.

A car most agree to be Ferrari’s finest, up there with the F40 and 250 GTO. A lightweight, hardcore, track-focused Ferrari is as exciting as a new model. It is a car petrolheads desire to own and one that most would say captures the true spirit of Ferrari. More so than their actual halo hypercars.

Ferrari 296: The Best Supercar Currently Though Lacks Character

Ferrari’s current “baby” supercar, the 296 is very different from its predecessors. Instead of a purely petrol V8, this car uses a twin-turbo V6 working in tandem with an electric motor. The result is 819 horsepower and 546 lb-ft of torque. The result of all this is 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 205mph.

The handling is epic as well. With its short wheelbase and perfectly precise chassis, it feels as dainty and dancing as a Lancia Stratos. However, whilst this car is epic in many ways, it feels artificial. Seemingly this car lacks soul and character compared to what came before. So the question is, will this lightweight variant fix those problems?

What We Can Tell From the Spy Shots

The first thing about this car is that it follows the previous Lightweight Ferrari recipe of having a rather silly name. We’ve had Pista (Track), Challenge Stradale (Road Challenge), Scuderia (Team) and now Versione Speciale (Special Variant). Yeah Ferrari’s name structure, isn’t exactly what you’d call inspiring, more so they state the obvious.

Whilst the 296 VS is mostly covered in camouflage, we can tell certain aspects about the car from behind this picture. Spy shots reveal a flatter nose with more horizontal LED headlamps and a redesigned duct on the front hood. These undoubtedly will improve the car’s downforce whilst reducing drag.

The VS also features revised side vents and a reworked rear section which take inspiration from the new F80 hypercar. These also were clearly inspired to assist in downforce and ensure plenty of air is fed to the twin-turbo V6. Whilst undoubtedly these changes would ruin the 296’s aesthetics, they will all in all make it a far more focused driver’s car.

In addition, the V6-hybrid will be tweaked to produce more than 820 horsepower (around 840 I should imagine) but not that much more torque (max 552 lb-ft). 0-62 should go down by at least 0.1 of a second though top speed will probably still be around 205mph. In fact, in many cases, the lightweight car is actually slower than the regular, see 765LT vs 720S.

Expected Launch, Rivals and What Petrolheads Want

Reports suggest the Versione Speciale will be unveiled in April 2025, with a special Piloti edition, featuring a GT3-inspired livery, debuting at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Undoubtedly, its main rival with be the new Porsche 992 GT2 RS, which has been spotted many times around the Nürburgring. So it’s likely these two will go head to head upon their release.

When both arrive in the UAE, we at F1rstMotors guarantee a direct Head2Head. However, on a more personal note, comparison aside, there’s something I personally want. I found the 296 rather artificial and somewhat lacklustre upon driving it. Sure it was fast as heck, perfectly balanced and lovely to drive but everything in it felt artificial.

I want the Versione Speciale to do the 296 what the Scuderia did to the F430 17 years ago. Take away the computers and make the car a raucous, raw and real racer. A knife-edged machine that really demands to be driven well and if not, it will teach its driver a brutal lesson. Sure hybrid tech is good and all, but ultimately, the Versione Speciale must be an authentic, violent stallion. A true and proper Ferrari.

Source: TheSupercarBlog