What is the Tour De France? Ask this question to most people, and they’ll refer to a rather long-winded bicycle race that takes place on the other side of the English Channel. In this case, they’d be close, but unfortunately, they’d be two wheels short of having the correct answer.

See, the Tour de France was also a car race between the years of 1899 and 1986. It took place on a wide variety of open roads, with circuit races, hill climbs and special stages comprising the larger portions of the event. The list of winners is dominated by Ferrari, with 13 wins, followed by some familiar names including Jaguar, Lancia, and Renault.

2023

3,100

Blu Tour De France with Nero roof

Crema with Blu stitching

Car of the week this time is a 296 GTB, with paint named for that very race – Tour De France Blu, a classic colour. Unusually, it’s not the only colour on the car – for this 296 has a rather special Bi-Colour roof in Nero, which goes tremendously well with the gloss Black lower trim on the wing mirrors. More unusual specification can be found inside, with the colour of the stitching (Blu) a special request by the previous owner, to match the Prancing horse on headrests. Continuing further down the spec plaque leads us to -unusually- not a huge amount of carbon fibre aside from driving zone with LEDs and outer sill kick.

That doesn’t mean it’s short on spec, though. Full electric seats that are genuinely comfy,a JBL Premium HiFi System and Suspension Lifter, along with 20” Forged Diamond Rims form just a small section of the spec plaque. There’s also front-end PPF courtesy of Topaz, adaptive frontlight system and front and rear parking sensors, all of which make those road journeys that little bit easier, and the easier a journey is, the more likely you are to make it, and the more you’ll be able to enjoy some of Fiorano’s finest work.

It’s a tricky one, the 296. Regardless of whether you think it should have a V8 in it (we’ll leave that decision up to you), it’s an astonishingly capable and technologically proficient car, which, thanks to the hybrid assistance, is as quick as you could ever wish a car to be on the road. Quicker even.

Find Out More HERE