Ferrari 296 Speciale revealed as most powerful rear-drive prancing horse ever
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West Australian
10-05-2025
- West Australian
When Ferrari says ‘speciale', it MEANS special
Ferrari has unveiled its latest special series models, the 296 Speciale and 296 Speciale A. They have more power, more downforce and weight savings learnt from the Italian 'prancing stallion' marque's race teams. And, of course, they are beautiful. The cars both have a hybrid powertrain that has a combined output of 647kw (880 horsepower). The 296 Speciale A is agile and responsive, with a rear-mid 3-litre, 120 degree V6 twin turbo engine and an electric motor, a short wheelbase and innovative dynamic control systems. A Ferrari spokesperson says the drivetrain delivers that combined power output of 880hp, 50 more than the 296 GTS and a record for a rear-wheel-drive production Ferrari. The spokesperson explains: 'To make these results possible, Ferrari drew extensively from its experience in motor sports. The internal combustion engine borrows from the powerplant of the 296 Challenge in terms of engine management maps and boost strategy, and boasts titanium connecting rods, reinforced pistons and a lightened crankshaft. All these elements, together with a knock control system derived from Formula 1, have raised the power output of the V6 to 514kw (700hp) — 27kw (37hp) more than the model this special version is based on.' And the sound? It comes from 'the pure harmonics of the 3rd, 6th and 9th combustion orders', explains the spokesperson. The electric motor has also been uprated, to deliver 132kw (180hp) in its new 'extra boost mode'. The eight-speed dual clutch transmission makes use of additional torque during shifts to shorten shift times. 296 SPECIALE Agility, turn-in responsiveness and stability. The terms used in describing the Ferrari 296 Speciale tell its story on the road. And this car of previous great berlinettas — the Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia, 458 Speciale and 488 Pista (to put it in a top five). It sits in a lineage. The engineering design team focused on weight saving, and shaved 9kg off the engine's castings, con rod and piston assemblies and engine studs, by learning from Ferraris' racing experience. The Ferrari spokesperson says: 'Employing the same approach used for the engine of the 499P, which won the 2023 and 2024 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, both the engine block and crankcase were machined to trim excess metal, offering a weight saving of 1.2kg over previous iterations of this engine. 'An additional 1.9kg has been saved by introducing titanium fastener screws and stud bolts for the cylinder blocks and cylinder heads. 'This is a solution usually reserved for race engines and debuts here for the first time ever in a road-going application.' At the same time, they increased combustion pressure by seven per cent, compared with the 296 GTB's engine. 296 SPECIALE A The convertible 296 Speciale A has a retractable hardtop. The car generates 435kg of downforce at 250km/h with the roof up, partly thanks to the aero damper built into the front bonnet and the vertical fins on the rear bumper which incorporate new side wings. Overall weight has been reduced by 50kg compared with the 296 GTS, by using carbon fibre for some body parts and titanium for engine components in the engine.
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- News.com.au
Ferrari 296 Speciale unveiled: The Prancing Horse's fastest, ‘most extreme' car yet
Common rule of thumb for extreme track-focused supercars is the uglier they are the faster they are when hot lapping. Function over form dominates and if engineers can get away with bolting a wing onto the back of a handsome coupe, you can bet they'll screw on the biggest, ugliest appendage they can find in pursuit of precious downforce. So you might expect the latest, most extreme 648kW Ferrari 296 Special to have fallen from the very top of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Except in the flesh the lighter, more powerful hard-core 296 is still somehow as handsome as ever and, if anything, benefits from all the enhancements required to efficiently manage the air around its svelte body to boost high-speed stability needed for hot lapping. There's a tweaked nose and a revised lower front bumper that sports larger air intakes. Aerodynamicists have also added a scalloped bonnet that now packages a new S-duct-style intake that both reduces dive under braking and then does the opposite and reduces lift under acceleration. At the rear, Ferrari has pinched the fender flares from the 296 Challenge racer but resisted the temptation to borrow its big wing. Sure, some might miss the racer-for the road look, but Ferrari claim that the 296 Speciale produces 435kg of downforce at 250km/h – 20 per cent more than the standard car, although that figure is a long way off the incredible 860kg maximum the 911 GT3 RS can muster. The modest boost is easy to explain, says Ferrari. If you want to go fast on track feel free to buy one of our race cars, but if you want to have fun behind the wheel you'll want the 296. Originally rumoured to ditch its electrification in pursuit of maximum kilo-cutting, the 296 Speciale keeps its ultra-compact plug-in hybrid twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 but winds up power to a dizzying 648kW. The power comes from new internals lifted from both the inbound F80 hypercar and Prancing Horse's two-time Le Mans-winning 499P racer. There's also tweaks to the electric motor that now pushes out 132kW and 315Nm and, combined with a 7.45kWh battery, can still drive the Ferrari in near-silent EV mode at speeds of up to 135km/h for 25km. Off the line from 0-100km/h the hotter 296 takes just 2.8 seconds – 0.1sec faster than the standard car, while 0-200km/h is dispensed in seven seconds flat. Emphasising the sense of thrust is the faster-shifting eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, the fact that all its power is channelled to the road via the rear wheels and the fact that engineers have carved away 60kg. Improving the way the 296 drives on road and track, engineers have revised the suspension and introduced stiffer springs and new trick damper that are said to reduce roll by 13 per cent which leads to 4 per cent harder cornering. That might sound hard to get your head around. But all that extra power, less weight and new-found downforce the 296 Speciale is now faster round Ferrari's Fiorano home circuit than any modern Ferrari you care to name, including the LaFerrari, with it posting an identical time to the near million-dollar SF90 hypercar. Which brings us to the thorny issue of cost and availability. On sale in the first quarter of next year in both coupe and roadster body styles we think the Ferrari 296 Speciale will be priced from $700,000 (plus on-roads) for the Berlinetta coupe and $800,000 for the Aperta droptop – a huge sum of money but a significant saving over an SF90. The problem is, despite Ferrari not capping volumes, the famous Italian car brand says to be eligible to buy you first need to currently own a Ferrari and the next is you need to have already built a relationship with your local dealer. So unless you have current 296, Roma or SF90 tucked away in your garage and are godfather to the dealer principle's firstborn even if you have the cash, odds are, you'll still miss out on what could be the fastest, most capable and prettiest supercars money can buy.
Canberra Times
29-04-2025
- Canberra Times
Ferrari 296 Speciale revealed as most powerful rear-drive prancing horse ever
As with the powertrain, the 296 Speciale's chassis and suspension architecture is essentially the same as that of the regular 296. Among the changes are the fitment of Multimatic adjustable shocks derived from those used on the 296 GT3 race car and stiffer, lighter titanium springs that help reduce the maximum roll angle by 13 per cent. The ride height has been dropped 5mm, lowering the centre of gravity.
