Touted as a new benchmark for driving engagement and thrills, Ferrari has whipped the wraps off the 296 Speciale, an, ahem, as its name would suggest, special — and more powerful! — version of the 296 GTB.
More powerful, you say? Indeed, for the 296 Speciale, the Maranello-based marque has injected the standard (if there is such a thing, really) 296 GTB’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain with 38 kW and 15 N.m. The result is healthy combined peak power and torque outputs of 648 kW and 755 N.m.
According to the Italian manufacturer, the uprated figures allow the (1 410 kg, dry) Prancing Horse PHEV to complete the obligatory 0-100 km/h sprint in 2.8 seconds, one-tenth of a second quicker than the 296 GTB, before reaching the 200 km marker just 4.2 seconds later, at 7.0 seconds (0.3 seconds quicker than the 296 GTB). Ferrari quotes a top speed in excess of 330 km/h.
As a reminder, the 296 model line-up’s PHEV configuration comprises a 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor, sited betwixt the ICE and transmission, that’s coupled with a 7.45 kWh “high-voltage” battery. Power is exclusively sent to the rear axle via an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The automaker claims an emissions-free operating range of 25 km.
The 296 Speciale is brought to a halt by a set of 398 mm front and 360 mm rear carbon-ceramic brake discs, sited behind 20-inch alloy wheels, shod in 245/35- and 305/35-size Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, fore and aft.
In addition to the increases in power and twisting force, perhaps the most notable inclusion to the 296 Speciale package is revised aerodynamics. The firm says the 296 Speciale generates 435 kg of downforce — an increase of 20 per cent over the 296 GTB — is when travelling at 250 km/h.
Said the company, “The aerodynamic development for this car had two primary objectives: on the one hand, to evolve and hone the aerodynamics of the original car, reinterpreting its original spirit while taking performance to extreme new levels […] while on the other, to incorporate aerodynamic concepts developed in motor sports applications … to give shape to unprecedented solutions for a road-going car.”