The $500,000 Ferrari 296 GTB Elevates What a Supercar Can Be

If you want to convert a skeptic to the potential of performance hybrids, ten minutes in the Ferrari 296 should do it. I realize this is a tall order, as the 296 GTB we have on hand for PCOTY costs $505,000-more than a nice house in many parts of the country-but nevertheless, one lap in, you know where that money is going.
While a twin-turbocharged V-6 mated to a hybrid electric drive doesn’t seem, at first, like a good reason to buy a Ferrari, some other numbers might change your mind: 819 horsepower, 546 lb-ft. Zero to 60 in 2.4 seconds (the quickest ever RWD road car we’ve tested) and quarter mile in 9.7 seconds at 150 mph. My co-editor-at-large Jethro Bovingdon, responsible for the PCOTY lap times, gushed over the speed, but to me, I gushed about other things.
The steering, for one, is telepathic. Ferrari, starting back in 2010 with the 458 Italia, set off down a road of fast steering racks. They took some getting used to, but they've since come into their own as being directly wired into my brain. Combined with the special differential you only get with the optional Assetto Fiorano package our tester is equipped with, the steering makes the 296 just about the finest drift machine on sale today. It’s no wonder Ferrari brought us seven sets of wheels and tires. They knew what we were going to do here.
Once you get over the enormous price tag, the 296 is simply an extension of your body, able to pull off superhuman moves just by thinking about it.
There are some drawbacks, of course, even beyond the price tag. I’m never surprised but always shocked by how good Ferrari can make a car drive, and how simultaneously bad it can make a car to use. The interfaces, the multimedia systems, the settings menus in this thing are a total disaster. My knee seems to be perfectly placed to hit the fuel door release button, which it did, at random times, every time I drove the thing. There are too many controls on the wheel in a confusing setup that requires you to take your eyes off the road to use them. And if you have a CarPlay navigation going, you don’t have a tachometer. Which is dumb.
Nevertheless, this isn’t a test of which car I’d most like to daily drive. It’s Performance Car of the Year. And there is zero doubt that the Ferrari 296 elevates what a supercar can be, should be, and does, to a level previously unheard of. That’s why it’s the overall winner of this test for 2024.
-Matt Farah, editor at large.

[@lucagattoni-celli1377]

The music is unbelievably out of place.

[@timcrenshaw5920]

Matt I love your reviews, this one in particular had me imagining a little bit of Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues" in the background!

[@danny200mph5]

For a V6 it sounds amazing

[@obsidian....]

Voice is too low

[@dnice362]

Just get a 765lt

[@jameswillard1]

Yeah 765 is the most tempting alternative for this car

[@southstalk]

Gotta love spam posting channels 😊

[@dhanu_4539]

What's with all of the hate? It's a 900hp hybrid supercar from historic brand. The la Ferrari had similar numbers and now it costs several millions. Is it because of the V6 engine, is it because of the looks, is it because it isn't a limited production car? I don't really understand why people dislike this. I personally think this is the true successor to the 458 both in the elegant design and mind blowing performance.

[@jameswillard1]

It’s either from 458 aficionados that think that car was way better than it actually was (I owned one) or people that can’t afford one and don’t like change. I’ve driven a 296 GTB and it was spectacular. Way more exciting than my 458 was in my opinion. And most shocking was how good it sounded inside the cabin in real life. This video isn’t doing the sound justice in my opinion

[@dhanu_4539]

@@jameswillard1 I kind of meant in terms of design and engine sound. The 458 has much cleaner lines and the NA engine is more pure than the F8 or the 488 in sound. The 296 has similar fresh and clean lines and I also think that it sounds nice. They both were a big jump in performance compared to the previous generation cars. In those aspects I think both are quite similar in comparison to the time they came out. I haven't driven either so I don't have any basis to compare the two. But I'd like to hear if you agree with the points.

[@jameswillard1]

@@dhanu_4539 I totally agree with the 296 being the logical progression in terms of how the 458 moved the game on similarly 14 years ago. As far as sound, I know I’m in the minority, but I never loved the way the 458 sounded. It had a very monotone sound that never really came alive or became very different/exciting as it climbed the revs. I guess it’s just a personal preference because I just had a C8 Z06, that pretty much everyone who rode in it thought sounded incredible, but never wowed me with its noise. In my eyes the F8 looked the best out of the 458/488/F8 range only because it was more aggressive compared to the prettier 458, especially in Tributo form with the lexan rear window and it’s F40 like slits

[@dhanu_4539]

@@jameswillard1 if we are talking about all the variations then it would be the 488 pista for me. The centre line Stripes just just makes it look perfect.

[@KUROSHURA]

Truly a Pinnacle representation of a Ferrari Formula 1 Car for the Road.