For the past 22 years, Ferrari fans have come to expect sharpened, hardened versions of the brand’s mid-engined sports cars to see out each generation. Think 360 Challenge Stradale, F430 Scuderia, and 458 Speciale. It’s hard to believe that the hybridized 296 GTB is already coming toward the end of its lifecycle, but here we are, with the lighter, pointier 296 Speciale.
Some previous hardcore mid-engined Ferraris have used hypercar bits, and the 296 Speciale is no exception. It takes its titanium connecting rods directly from the forthcoming F80 hypercar, and in conjunction with hardened pistons and a lighter crankshaft, these new rods let boost climb by three PSI and engine output to 691 horsepower. Paired with a more powerful electric motor, the result is a whopping 868 horsepower, and that’s knocking on the door of the Ferrari SF90.
However, there’s more to the engine in the 296 Speciale than just raw output. The cylinder heads and engine block have been milled, trimming excess material like a chef cutting the cap off a tenderloin. At the same time, all the engine fasteners are made of titanium, like you’d find in a race car. Just these two weight reduction measures cause the 296 Speciale to drop 6.8 pounds, part of a 132-pound diet.
Now, 132 pounds doesn’t sound like a lot, but with how optimized modern supercars are, Ferrari’s had to resort to some interesting measures. The carbon fiber door cards are simply drilled to let sound from the speakers into the cabin, the bumpers can be optioned in carbon fiber, and even the turbocharger is 2.6 pounds lighter than the one on the 296 GTB while offering integrated turbine housing insulation.
Weight has a huge effect on handling, but suspension tweaks can do the same. With that in mind, the 296 Speciale features 0.2 degrees more negative camber, 0.2 inches taken out of the ride height, 15 percent stiffer springs, and newly formulated OEM-spec Michelin Cup 2 tires, all adding up to a claimed four percent increase in peak steady-state lateral grip and a lower roll angle. That’s the sort of stuff that helps when you’re managing extra aero load.
Oh yeah, those unusual winglets on the rear quarter panels are functional, as are the vented side skirts, more aggressive front bumper, and larger diffuser. Put it all together, and you end up with an entry level Ferrari that ties the SF90 around the Fiorano test track despite a 114-horsepower deficit and two fewer driven wheels. No doubt, the 6D sensor for faster, more accurate brake biasing and traction control also helps here, along with faster calibration for the eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle.
However, in a classically, irritatingly Ferrari move, you won’t actually be able to order a 296 Speciale. Ferrari only opened up order books to existing customers, and the entire production run is now sold out. It’s a bummer for anyone who hit the Powerball recently, but look on the bright side. The hybrid Ferraris aren’t doing too well on resale value, and the standard 296 GTB seems to be depreciating at a faster-than-expected pace. This 2024 model had a sticker price of $373,433 when new but failed to meet reserve on Bring A Trailer with a high bid of $296,000. Here’s another one that had a sticker price of $399,237, but failed to reach its reserve on Cars & Bids with a high bid of $303,296. While the Speciale variant is inherently, um, special, it could follow a similar path as its easycore sibling.
Could this be the first special Ferrari in what feels like forever to actually depreciate? Only time will tell, as deliveries of the 296 Speciale aren’t expected to start until early 2026. The drop-top Aperta version is then coming along after that, and if you were lucky enough to choose, I reckon that’s the one to have. Anyway, let’s see where values on this thing go.
Top graphic image: Ferrari
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It’s giving slight Mansory vibes. The regular 296 is so svelte, rounded, and elegant. All the winglets and aero stuff on this one somewhat ruin the design.
Pretty sure that’s a Lambo, dude.
I suppose if I were in “the club” I might think this was cool, but as someone on the outside even if I did win the lottery tomorrow I’d sooner give them the finger than buy anything from them. There are so many cool cars out there that don’t require you to deal with Ferrari’s BS.
Going back to the “what is fun article”, what would be more fun, this, or a 20-30 year old Ferrari that is slow as balls in comparison, but has a gated manual with an NA V8? I’ll probably never drive either, but seems like the old vehicle would be more fun.
Which is more fun might depend on where you’re driving.
A couple days ago, I was driving a Mach E in traffic, and because I was in a hurry, I took off from a stop light very briskly into a tunnel.
There was a V-8 powered Mustang GT in the lane next to me, ripping through gear shifts and roaring like an ape on fire, trying but failing to keep up with me. I wasn’t trying to race, but he sure seemed to think I was.
Once I reached my desired speed and let off the accelerator, he raced past me like a petulant child.
I had a similar experience on a different day tailed by a Ram TRX. All I thought about was how much fuel he was dumping into his engine to make all that noise.
All in all, a V8 powered car or truck seems a little pathetic and desperate in those conditions. I don’t want to be “that guy”. While I’m frequently in a hurry, I’m not one for stoplight racing, so I wouldn’t use a V8 sports car for street challenges.
But I’m shopping for one for track use because currently, an electric car typically can’t do more than a lap or two per charge.
Sorry, I thought we were racing…
😉
Absolutely depends on location, I’m thinking if I’m driving any Ferrari, I’m going to be avoiding stoplights and traffic like the plague. Even if I were given the choice on a closed track of the new, super fast Ferrari, or the old, slower Ferrari, I’d probably choose to not get motion sick while driving and shift gears myself.
I’ve had similar experiences in the Bolt, just about forcing a base 911 onto the shoulder when his lane ran out and he struggled to get in front of me, or zipping away from coal rolling trucks trying to harass me.
All of this talk of saving weight in the weirdest spaces and most expensive ways, and no mention of the fact that it is an obese 3,400 lbs. Someone call Jenny Craig!
Just another overpriced, obese supercar, like almost all the rest. Quite boring if you ask me.
The Mazda Miata ND is such a damned bargain, in light of this. If only they made it with more robust mechanicals and 3-4x more power, and cut features and size to make up for the weight so that it wouldn’t get heavier in the process.
I wonder how much of that weight is 200MPH worth of crash protection?
That said, it’s interesting to think about a $300k Miata-ish thing. Use a small flat plane V8 or a Ford GT V6, alloy steel chassis with CF passenger cell, a little active aero, then style it to look like a million bucks.
If it sees Miata-like production volume, it could end up much closer to $30k than $300k. Sick of cars styled to look like a million bucks costing a million bucks. Let the proletariat have nice things, and give us the damned steak for our hard-earned money, not the sizzle. I like what Slate is doing, they seem to get it.
And any notion of crash protection at 200 mph is more than a bit of a joke, unless you design it with an integrated safety cell, restraints, and no airbags, like an F1 car, in which case, you will likely have massive weight savings.
I was also thinking Skyactive inline-6 with added supercharger, in this case.
I’ve always wondered why this had to be the case.
The rich people who own the means of production think this sort of thing should be exclusive to their socio-economic class.
god dammit, you’re right. I am pretty pessimistic and I didn’t even go that far.
There’s some legit reasons as well. More pieces, more curves and creases, more complex shapes, means more cost. Making the aero, cooling, packaging, etc work also means more engineering and probably more complex parts underneath.
If the Autopian ever does another project car they should pay you to do an article on stripping and converting it to the most efficient mode of transportation possible.
More robust mechanicals would add weight. A 3-4x more powerful engine would add weight. The transmission would be heavier to deal with the extra torque. The driveshaft/axles and differential would be bigger and heavier. The body would need to be stiffer for the extra torque. The wheels would be bigger to get enough traction to put down the extra power. The suspension would be stronger and heavier to deal with the extra weight and aero load.
Maybe it could stay under 3400lbs, but it’d be a fair bit over 2200. It’s not like Ferrari is adding lead weights just for funsies.
That’s one ugly car.
The wheels are awful.
The CHMEO (Center High Mount Exhaust Outlet) kinda cracks me up.
I don’t think I’m alone thinking Ferrari’s overall styling theme is pretty tame, and they might have turned more heads if released a decade prior.
They need to take some pointers from cadillac and Lamborghini. Sharp and angular mixed with smooth is modern. Just smooth is still good, but they should find a mix between the 2 if they want to keep up.
I used to get so excited about new Ferraris. But I’ve not really been interested since the F360.
It’s not like I was ever going to buy one, so I’m not sure why I’ve stopped caring.
I think they’ve lost something since they dropped Pininfarina and brought design in-house. The cars just don’t look as pretty as they used to.
Welp, today I learned people spend $300k, sight unseen, buying cars on the internet.
Seriously, though, who has a $300k+ vehicle that could be sold at a fancy-pants auction or through a model-specific website, but says “Nah, let Dougie take the helm!”?
When people say things like “The world is changing” I understand that on a basic level, but not at this level.
They’ve also brought some physical buttons back to the steering wheel too
I hate to blame something subjective like styling for the market softness, but this is not an attractive car. Neither is the SF90.
The regular 296’s are stunning, the SF90 is all ugly all the time.
I agree, except for the the headlight intake cutout. If they filled that in or at least made it more curvaceous, the standard car would be stunning.
This looks like a C8 that was raised on the Mediterranean diet. There isn’t an attractive car in Ferrari’s entire lineup right now. I will continue to scream into the abyss about how their in house design team sucks and they need to go back to Pininfarina.
I’ll never argue against more PininFerraris, but the Roma is pretty, and the 12Cilindri is interesting enough to warrant some notice.
I strongly agree, and wish more people called out Ferrari’s designs as being the hot messes they are. Just no cohesion, and they’re all so over-the-top aggressive. The Roma is nice, though, but that’s really it.
The Roma is nice… but to me it looked like they ripped of aston martin and just made the nose pointier.
I kinda like ferraris whole lineup, but the 296 and the F80 are the best looking to me.
I disagree – they had a rough period right after they dumped Pininfarina but they’re getting their mojo back.
The Roma is stunning, the 296 is a welcome return to form, the Purosangue (whether you like that type of car or not) is striking in the flesh, and the 12Cilindri is a risk that is paying off, IMO.
In a world where Lambos are styled to appeal to 7 year olds and Astons are getting more garish by the minute, Ferrari’s more subtle designs are a breath of fresh air.
As I wrote in my other comment, this 296 Speciale somewhat detracts from the regular 296’s beauty.
Current Ferraris just don’t excite me much. I saw a few when I was in an affluent part of the Florida gulf coast a couple weeks ago and they just don’t get my blood pumping in the way that seeing something like a 550 Maranello would…but then again I’m one of those insufferable folks who won’t shut up about how bad of an idea ditching Pininfarina was and I’ll never be able to afford one anyway so it’s not like my opinion matters lol.
I think it’s because they seem more like technical achievements rather than something made with passion
I think you are right. In this case, it’s the difference between passion and attention to detail. This car has tons of attention to detail, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a passionate end result.
I don’t really follow Ferrari, but they ditched Pininfarina? That has got to be the dumbest move ever.
The main reason I would even entertain the idea of picking up one of those cheap Gran Turismos is the Pininfarina badge.
If your supercar doesn’t even have 900 horsepower, is it even really a supercar?
psh. 1000 is the new 300.
Exactly. At this point, I feel like this is just a car, not a supercar. How can I expect to impress everyone at the golf club with a measly 868 hp? Charm? If I had that, I wouldn’t need the Ferrari
Might as well pull up in your grandma’s Buick at this point.
Plot twist:
Gramma drove a GNX
(I wish, my grandma was a hateful old shut-in with a 2001 Protege that I actually did like, certainly much better than I liked her)
My grandmother drove a Camaro, then a Mustang, after I was born.
She used to floor it on the highway and scream “We’re going to the moon!” and get well into the triple digits. She loved to hoon.
Perhaps, mmm. But, you know, this is the one. Yes, yes yes… I saw three of these parked outside the local Starbucks this morning, which tells me only one thing. There’s too many self-Indulgent wieners in this city with too much bloody money! Now, if I was driving a 1967 275 GTB four-cam…
You would not be a self-indulgent wiener, sir… You’d be a connoisseur.