FERRARI 296 GTB

New model with new V6 engine, as part of 819bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain, transforms Maranello’s entry-level offering

- MATT PRIOR

TESTED 18.2.22, SEVILLE, SPAIN ON SALE SUMMER PRICE £241,550

TESTER'S NOTE By-wire braking is becoming common on hybrids and electric cars. Here it gives smooth, consistent feel, used for hiding temperature-induced pressure changes. MP

“What would you change?” asks Raffaele de Simone. ‘Development test driver for Ferrari GT’ reads his job title, which modestly understates the influence of the man who is ultimately responsible for how every Ferrari road car drives.

Of course there are some things I would change about the new Ferrari 296 GTB, because no car is perfect. But having just stepped out of it after belting it around a race track for a few minutes, somehow I forget that Apple CarPlay seemingly disables the rev counter or that the nose lift takes a while to operate, and I’m blowed if I can talk much at all, let alone say what’s wrong with it.

I mumble something about how nicely balanced it is, which means de Simone is basically around to be told what a great job he has done. It’s like the opposite of reading YouTube comments.

To the 296 GTB, then. This is Ferrari’s latest mid-engined standard (£241,550) supercar, and its engineers don’t tend to get those wrong. Probably not since the F355 but certainly not since the 458 Italia, which felt a generation and a half better than its F430 predecessor. That might or might not have had something to do with the prospect of McLaren making a rival, so they needed it to be particularly good. It was, and every generation of Maranello’s V8 supercar has since been, blinding.