Ferrari 296 Speciale review: A conundrum for collectors
Hybrid tech wins approval from regulators for the 296 Speciale, but will Ferrari collectors give it the nod?
[MARANELLO] If the 296 Speciale reveals anything about Ferrari, it’s that the Italian supercar maker has a way of making contradictions disappear.
The company that built its mystique on scarcity aims to increase production from just over 1,100 cars a month, but do so without diluting exclusivity. The plan? Make more variants of a given model, but keep each one rare enough to make collectors drool.
That’s where the 296 Speciale comes in. As a sharper, leaner, louder evolution of the 296 GTB – a plug-in hybrid that serves as the brand’s entry-level sports car – the Speciale is an extreme car that ventures into hallowed territory. It traces its lineage to the 360 Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia, 458 Speciale and 488 Pista, track-leaning thoroughbreds that made seasoned drivers break into a grin (or cold sweat), and all of them highly collectible (the cars, that is, not the drivers).
This line of Ferraris traditionally used howling V8 engines, but the 296 is powered by the company’s modern hybrid twin-turbo V6. Purists might howl, too, at this polite nod to regulators. Yet, there’s nothing polite about the way the 296 Speciale goes.
Ferrari’s engineers attacked every area that influences performance, namely power, weight, grip and aerodynamics, with borderline obsessiveness.
Consider how much was done to the combustion engine. The 700-horsepower, 3.0-litre V6 now has titanium connecting rods, pistons and fasteners pinched from the F80, Ferrari’s limited edition supercar, along with a lighter crankshaft, casing and turbochargers. All that for a 37 hp gain and 9 kilograms in weight saving.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 2 pm
Lifestyle
Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.
As an optional extra, you can even have the tailpipe in titanium; every gram counts and every decibel matters, after all, and while the 296 Speciale’s engine note is unmistakably Ferrari, it’s now angrier and more metallic.
On the electric side, a software tweak yields an extra 13 hp from the motor, for 180 hp in total. Together, the system outputs 880 hp, a handsome 50 hp gain over the regular 296 GTB.
But raw power is only half the story. Ferrari stripped a total of 60 kg from the 296 Speciale. Twenty kilograms were removed from the interior by using carbon fibre seats and door panels, titanium fixtures, and Alcantara instead of leather. Another 31 kg was lopped off from the body, thanks to extensive use of carbon fibre parts and a Lexan rear windscreen.
Then there’s the aero. Ferrari’s aerodynamicists gave a PhD-level presentation to explain how the Speciale makes 435 kg of downforce at 250 kmh, a 20 per cent increase over the GTB, without adding drag. That’s not marketing fluff; at around 110 kmh the car already generates about 100 kg of downforce, which is actually useful on track days and fast B-roads.
Engineers tweaked the balance, too, with much of the extra downforce channelled to the car’s front axle. That helps tighten turn-in, and neutralises the heavier hybrid’s slight reluctance to jink into a corner.
Chief designer Flavio Manzoni professes a profound hatred of tacked-on wings, yet his team worked with the aero guys to somehow pull off the impossible, improving the aerodynamics without adding a plethora of giant spoilers.
Other pieces of the Speciale puzzle include stickier tyres specially developed for the car by Michelin, lower and stiffer springs for the suspension, along with optional active dampers to keep the body in check without destroying comfort.
Perhaps unable to disguise its racing team mentality, Ferrari proudly says the Speciale corners with 4 per cent more lateral acceleration and needs one metre less to stop from 200 kmh.
In terms of how it actually feels, though, the car is nothing short of staggering. The steering is surgically precise, and communicates every tiny change of grip through the wheel. The car itself doesn’t feel just faster, but purer. It reacts instantly, faithfully, and rewards commitment, especially through the higher-speed esses of Fiorano, the company’s private test track.
Blasting off to 100 kmh takes 2.8 seconds, though that barely conveys how ferocious it feels when overtaking. There is zero turbo lag because the electric motor fills every gap in the torque curve, making acceleration a continuous, vision-distorting surge. You squeeze the throttle and the horizon lunges towards you as if you engaged warp drive.
While it feels utterly composed and yet alive beneath you on the track, the Speciale showed its true versatility out on the mountain roads around Maranello. Despite being violently fast, it’s still forgiving and compliant, a masterclass in how to make a car thrilling without punishing its driver. Even in the harder Race driving mode, it glides with the road.
What this new Ferrari amounts to is a car that’s track-focused yet road-friendly, brutally fast yet surprisingly forgiving, exclusive yet part of a broader strategy to raise production. The 296 Speciale does have collector-car shoes to fill, but the way it feels behind the wheel certainly honours its ancestors. Contradiction has never felt this right.
Ferrari 296 Speciale
Engine 2992 cc, twin-turbo V6 Engine power 700 hp at 8,000 rpm Engine torque 755 Nm at 6,000 rpm Motor power 180 hp Motor torque 315 Nm System power 880 hp Gearbox 8-speed twin-clutch automatic 0-100 kmh 2.8 seconds Top speed 330 kmh Fuel efficiency 8.9 L/100 km Agent Ital Auto Price S$1,848,245 before COE and options Available Fourth quarter of 2026
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
