Ferrari 296 GTS review

As it happens, they were right to be concerned. That turbo unit did indeed sound a little flat. But now it’s gone, and we know from driving the 296 GTB that Ferrari’s fresh twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 is really quite tuneful, its sonic spectrum loaded with higher frequencies. It's natural, too. There are pipes that cleverly channel appealing sounds from pick-ups around the engine bay into the cockpit via a series of valves and resonators but there is nothing man-made about any of it. Roofless GTS duties should suit this engine well.

But first, those compromises. Ferrari’s stated aim with the 296 GTS is to replicate the character of the sensationally good 296 GTB as faithfully as possible. It’s why the double-wishbone suspension in both cars uses exactly the same geometry; why the EPAS calibration is unchanged; and why the damping rates have been tweaked only on account of the Spider’s extra 70kg, rather than to give the car any distinct dynamic. That’s one of the drawbacks: 70kg, plenty of it quite high up in the car’s structure. Rigidity is the other. However, while Ferrari wouldn’t say how close the GTS gets to matching the GTB, it did claim at the launch event a 50% improvement compared with the F8 Spider, which sounds pretty remarkable. As for performance, the GTB and GTS are identical: 0-62mph in 2.9sec, at least 205mph flat out. 

No surprise, then, that the rear-drive, plug-in hybrid powertrain is also unchanged. That means 654bhp comes from the V6 and 164bhp is generated by the slim motor between the flywheel and the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, with its versatile limited-slip differential.

The GTS also employs the GTB’s fiercely complex electronic chassis command centre. This uses data from the steering, throttle and e-diff plus various gyroscopes and sensors to keep the handling as locked down or joyfully adjustable as you like, all in the context of relative safety. For civilised slivers of oversteer on the exits of the bends, you might set the powertrain to Performance and for chassis have the eManettino (that’s the colourful rotary dial on the steering wheel) in CT Off. For maximum attack at Silverstone, you’d go straight for Race on the eManettino and set the powertrain to Qualifying, which is the only way to get all 819bhp.

Does ultimate speed matter in the 296 GTS? From the driver’s seat, I’m not sure. Fully unleash it and the car is head-scrambling; unnerving, even, if only when you remind yourself that this is no SF90, with the stabilising effect of a driven front axle. Honestly, 719bhp would be more than enough and even 619bhp plenty to be getting on with, but 819bhp? Pointless, brilliant and something that even a well-developed frontal lobe will struggle to contend with. 

That it doesn’t feel especially risky to extend the 296 GTS speaks to just how supremely well this car absorbs the road beneath it and how homogeneous the handling is, helped by truly world-class traction control and ABS tuning. Having previously experienced the coupé with only the hardcore Assetto Fiorano chassis and aero package (also available on the the GTS), with its race-style Multimatic dampers, I thought the regular set-up could feel clumsily soft, especially in the convertible. But it doesn’t. Truth is that on uneven roads, the unyielding reactivity of the Assetto suspension can unsettle the car, but in the firmer of its two modes, the factory-standard hardware on our GTS proves awesomely polished. Only the worst compressions, taken at outrageous speeds, threaten to bamboozle the car’s body control, which is an uncanny blend of iron-fisted and carefree. It’s perfect for road duties.    

It lays the ground for this Ferrari’s defining characteristic, which is simply ‘flow’. There’s no question that a carbon-tubbed McLaren Spider model (any of them) reacts more cleanly on turn-in and feels just a touch more unified in the way both axles carve through your chosen line, but that approach does come with the caveat that those cars can sometimes feel a little too racy. The 296 GTS doesn’t take itself so seriously but still feels delightfully agile and composed. Everything is so nicely matched up: steering, pedal weights, spring and damper rates. It’s an exceptionally confidence-inspiring car, both up to and just beyond the limits of lateral grip. Maybe there’s 5% precision lacking compared with the GTB – a faint inertia on turn-in and an even slighter willingness to push into understeer that isn’t there with the stiffer coupé, perhaps – but that’s about it. 

And while we’re on the subject of small margins, of the many extraordinary figures at play with the 296 GTS, how about this one: 0.3sec. This is the fragment of time by which this boulevardier derivative conceived to cater for your inner poseur trails the 488 Pista around the Fiorano circuit. So the 296 GTS is basically as quick as the 260kg-lighter 488 Pista, which is an animal of a track-day supercar. That’s almost incomprehensible, hybrid assistance or not.

The powertrain in the 296 is extraordinarily potent, of course. But what matters more than the mad scope of the power and torque is the style of the delivery, which is pretty sensational on all counts. Open the throttle and you're treated to unexpectedly sharp powertrain response courtesy of the torque fill provided by the e-motor. Even without it, this powertrain doesn’t really do lazy. Ferrari reckons the responsiveness of this heavily turbocharged V6 is only 15% longer than what you’d achieve from a similarly powerful atmospheric V8 and you can sense that urgency. It builds pressure so quickly too, and when the boost bubble reaches full size, you’re not automatically treated to a frightening spasm of lost traction but still have finesse and linearity on your side, sustained all the way to the 8500rpm redline. There are no gaps, only drive and shape. The counterpoint here is that the 296 GTS can unstick its Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres almost at will, if you really want it to.