We know last week was a Ferrari, but we’re following it up this week with another one, and for good reason. This time around, car of the week concerns a sub-£200,000 Ferrari 296 GTB. The 296 gets a lot of flak for dropping a couple of cylinders from the 488.

With a list price of £375,000, if you want to get into a 296, an extremely lightly used, “second-hand” (for want of a better word), example is probably the way to do it, thanks to immense savings over list price.

2023

7600

Grigio Scuro

Charcoal & Nero leather & Alcantara with Grigio Chiaro stitching & accents.

It’s not exactly lacking in specification, either. If the option begins with carbon fibre, chances are, this has got it- the costliest option being the rear diffuser,  closely followed by the underdoor covers in carbon fibre. It’s not just acres of carbon fibre either- the previous owner went to great lengths to spec a very tasteful car, with Grey Charcoal Alcantara seats and Dashboard. Subtle changes that to the untrained eye, might not seem like they’re worth a mention. Nevertheless, put the changes together, and this 296 starts to make sense.

It’s a technological masterpiece, the 296. It brings electrification to mainstream Ferrari customers, drip feeding down from the racetrack, to the LaFerrari, the SF90, and now the 296. Especially considering the immense second-hand market savings. It’s all-new twin-turbo V6 and electric motor, powering the rear wheels only, team together to produce 819bhp. Plenty to be getting on with, and probably more than you need for the road, truth be told. Which is perhaps why the 296 can develop up to 100kg of downforce from the deployable rear wing alone – though the majority of its downforce comes from its intelligently sculpted undertrays, so that when, or if, you step foot onto a track, the 296 is right there alongside you.

Dare we say it- the 296 is a plug-in hybrid, with a small but still usable EV-only range of around 15 miles, and there are driving modes in which the car is able to take any chance it gets to recharge the battery. There’s good news elsewhere in the powertrain, too, because Ferrari swapped the V8 in the 488 for a V6, they managed to save some weight, meaning the penalty for carrying those heavy batteries around is severely lessened. The 296 fights smarter, not harder.

See more details HERE