The 2022 Ferrari 296 GTB is a V6 Hybrid.

by Wallace Wyss –

Almost 50 hears ago Ferrari premiered a mid-engined car powered by a V6 that used an engine started by a young designer named Alfredino, Enzo Ferrari’s son. After Dino’s death the production V6 was named after him. That was intended to be a bargain car, a sort of stepping stone on the way to a top of the line Ferrari. Well, this is the car everyone thought would be the new Dino in name and in price structure, vis-a-vis the top of the line models.

Only it’s not called the Dino instead it has the sheerly technical name 296 GTB. You might well ask, but wasn’t the Ferrari F8 Tributo with its 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 boasting 710 horsepower filling the role of a “junior” Ferrari? Yes, but the world has changed. Now a car company that wants to stay alive had better be electric and this being a hybrid, is half way there.

This is the first mid-engine V6 from Ferrari since the Dino of the ’60s 47 years ago. Its V6 steps into the fray with two weapons, twin turbochargers resting in the V of its aluminum alloy block. The lusty engine will wind as high as 8,500 rpm, and is rated as high as 654 horsepower, which makes it a middleweight in punching power compared to among its V6-powered competitors the 2022 Maserati MC20 and 2022 McLaren Artura.

But turbos are old hat, this car’s secret weapon is an electric motor, powered by a sub-floor mounted 7.45-kWh battery. This motor adds 164 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque into the eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission, for a combined output of 819 horses and 546 pound-feet. Which makes it about as fast as any top of the line supercar short of Bugatti. The zero to 60 mph figure had been quoted at 2.9 seconds, and a top speed at 204 mph.

There is an 8-speed DCT and E-Diff, and the MGU-K located between the engine and the gearbox. A clutch is set between the ICE and the electric motor to decouple them once you select electric-only eDrive mode. What’s the electric only range? A mere 15.5 miles on electric power alone. Nothing compared to a Tesla, which can go over 300 miles on a full charge but that’s a pure electric. The key thing about this car is the electric motor works in support of the V6.

You would think having two less cylinders would make it a lighter car but no, the 296 GTB actually weighs 77 pounds more than the F8 Tributo, with a dry weight of 3,241 pounds. Conversely, though, at least the 296 GTB is more compact than the F8, roughly 2″ shorter in both body and wheelbase, and the engine is mounted almost two inches lower in an aluminum frame.

It has a double-wishbone suspension damped with magnetic shocks that can be traded for Multimatic units, when you order the Assetto Fiorano package, which also adds carbon fiber aero components, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, and a composite rear window, which reduce the overall weight by 26 pounds. You can also reduce the weight by ordering carbon fiber wheels.

Electronic progress includes the Transition Manager Actuator (TMA) and the 6-way Chassis Dynamic Sensor (6w-CDS) – a world first for the automotive sector. There are also new functions that can be performed, such as the ABS evo controller, which uses the data gathered by the 6w-CDS, and the grip estimation integrated with the EPS.

I wish I could report that this car will be lower in price than the existing mid-engined Ferraris as was the case when the original mid engine Dino was about two-thirds the price of a V12 Daytona. But one price I read doesn’t sound like any bargain pricing– $320,000, which is more than the Tributo’s $276,550. It looks like Ferrari is trying to recover their development cost right with the first ones introduced.

In sum… Ferrari never wants to have a recurrence of that situation in ’66 when upstart rival Lamborghini brought out the Miura, a mid-engine V12, making Ferrari’s front engine cars look old. This time as the competition rolls out hybrids, so will Ferrari.

296 GTB – Technical specifications

POWERTRAIN
Type V6 – 120° – Turbo
Overall displacement 2992 cm3
Bore and stroke 88 mm x 82 mm
Max. power output ICE 663 cv
Max. power output hybrid system 610 kW (830 cv) at 8000 rpm
Max. torque 740 Nm at 6250 rpm
Max. revs 8500 rpm
Compression ratio 9.4:1
High voltage battery capacity 7.45 kWh

DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS
Length 4565 mm
Width 1958 mm
Height 1187 mm
Wheelbase 2600 mm
Front track 1665 mm
Rear track 1632 mm
Dry weight 1470 kg
Dry weight/power ratio 1.77 kg/cv
Weight distribution 40.5 % ant. / 59.5 % rear
Fuel tanks capacity 65 litres

TYRES AND WHEELS
Front 245/35 ZR 20 J9.0
Rear 305/35 ZR 20 J11.0

BRAKES
Front 398 x 223 x 38 mm
Rear 360 x 233 x 32 mm

TRANSMISSION AND GEARBOX
8-speed F1 DCT

ELECTRONIC CONTROLS
eSSC: eTC, eDiff, SCM, FDE2.0, EPS, ABS Evo, 6w-CDS;
high-performance ABS/EBD with energy recovery

PERFORMANCE
Max. speed > 330 km/h
0-100 km/h 2.9 s
0-200 km/h 7.3 s
200-0 km/h 107 m
Fiorano lap time 1’ 21”

FUEL CONSUMPTION AND CO2 EMISSIONS
Under homologation

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

THE AUTHOR/ARTIST: Wallace Wyss is the author of three Ferrari books plus the novel Ferrari Hunters. As a fine artist, he will be displaying his art (such as his first portrait of the new Ferrari) at Concorso Italiano. Info about his oil paintings can be obtained by writing malibucarart@gmail.com

 

 

Ferrari 296 GTB Design Critique

Ferrari went conservative on this “small” Ferrari. Here’s my take from each angle.

FRONT Looks very wide on purpose. No hint of chrome surprisingly no hood vents of any kind to offer character, a la GTC/4. And no creases (take that–Corvette stylists!) Headlights have a half lidded “mystery” look, but fortunately don’t try too hard to attract attention. Hey resisted the temptation to glitz up the grille mesh a la Lexus LC500

REAR Taillights still look like some forgotten Chevy, but unusual is how high the exhaust pipes are–you wonder if all countries will approve this more in-your-face height? The rear deck center is see-through, either glass or plastic, Ferrari knowing the engine exposed can be a great sales point to the mechanically minded. Rear under tray panels look very added-on-later by being gloss black and they don’t cling to the body making it look like they are about to fall off. And what are the vents for down there? There is an active rear spoiler but pictures so far haven’t revealed it deployed.

SIDE Again tame, and soft compared to many past Ferraris. I think it’s a move away from sharp edged lines because those “date” a car quickly. A nod to their rich racing history is the big side scoop resembles the 1964 Ferrari 250LM.Too bad outside rear view mirrors can’t be done away with (replaced by TV cameras) because they really intrude on the beauty of the flowing shape of the side view. Top bad there’s a curve to the back that still allows the rear taillights to be glimpsed from side because that removes an opportunity to return to the 250LM rear half side view. (The bulge over the tires spoils this a bit but it’s still a nostalgia bid).

OVERALL This is a smart move for Ferrari, going as conservative as the front-engined Roma, as too many of their previous mid-engine models had design cues (scoops, vents, etc.) which added that look-of-the-moment but date the design too fast (anybody remember the strakes on the side of the Testarossa? Even a Pininfarina family member admitted to me they shouldn’t have gone there). This design, by being another in their hybrid future, represents a conservative direction in mid-engined but still manages to have some good old nostalgic design cues.

One more example of conservative is the rear spoiler isn’t deployed until it’s needed. Those old permanently fixed-in-place spoilers on stilts look too “boy racer” for some so it’s good to hide these weapons until you need them.