296 GTB or 488 Pista

Interesting question - definitely not a clear cut answer.

If I had a Pista I probably wouldn’t change but had both Pista and 296 on a tour last week on both track and mountain roads in Spain and would say firstly in the hands of an average driver on fast twisty roads there is not much different in pace and performance in it.

however on track at full chat the Pista sounds a lot better than the 296 - both with stock exhaust (tho nowhere near as good as a 992 GT3RS with Akrapovich exhaust).

For me the cabin of the 296 is a lot nicer place to be and it is a car that can be dailyed without stress - the ability to cruise in electric mode in central London (with 20mph limits) is a game changer. To me the Pista is much more an “occasion” car and urges you to drive it quickly.

If your primary concern is residuals and future values then it is a no brainer to buy the Pista.

For me the 296GTS ticks all the correct boxes and I’m hoping it also gets me an allocation for the VS version
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Great way to describe this categorization!
g

 

I have both. The Pista is a much better looking car to me. More traditional Ferrari. But every time I grab the keys, it's the 296. The 296 is just such a pleasure to drive. If I had to sell one, it'll be the 296 though. The Pista is just special in my book. It's not the faster or the better performer, but there is something about the car that makes it feel special. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Pista is a grail car for me that I have missed the window on several times. My 296 is an amazing machine but it isn't a "forever car" like a Pista would be for me.

 

I agree. Why not grab one?

 

Divorce in progress.... :-/

 

Dang…sorry to hear that.

 

1/5 Stars, do not recommend.

 

Look on the positive.

If you get the Pista after the divorce, you don't have to share.

 

Having driven the 296 at corso pilota and having an sf90 which is similar in way if you think about the next generation Ferrari

go 296 and don’t look back. World ahead in every way. Pista might be more raw but sometimes too raw.
Only way you choose the pista is if you have another Ferrari

 

It's a single button push to deactivate the auto start/stop on a pista located in the overhead console

 

Anyone with tracking experience in both the Pista and 296? Is there less body roll in the 296?

 

Can't speak for the 296 but my Pista was terrible on the track. After a few laps the brakes were dead, too much body roll and turbo lag between 3rd and 4th gear. With this said, I loved the car and would buy another but wouldn't track it.

 

I don’t have a ton of track time in the Pista but immediately noticed the body roll as well, which is why I’m wondering about the 296. The turbo lag was actually more than anticipated now that you bring that up but I suspect that the 296 is so far ahead of that car with the torque fill it’s a non question.

thanks for your response btw, I appreciate it.

@Jo Sta7 I’m sold on the 750s next you think that’s the move since I’m going to track it also, or would you go 296? You can dm so we stay on topic if you prefer

 

Skip the 750 and get a 765, best car there is under $1m.

 

^^ this 100%. It’s the GOAT sub $1mm car.

 

Guess it must have been the track. Mine did very well and was composed for the entire day. The limitation for me was the Cup 2 tires just aren't great for anything more than a few sessions before they start to lose grip. Swapped to Pirelli Trofeo Rs are got more consistent laps. Not as fast for the fresh tire laps as the Cup 2s but way more consistent. Brakes were totally fine.

 

Mostly driver. They wont have a problem driving fast but if you push and drive it like it was marketed to then it fails. They aren't meant to track hard but rather drive fast.

 

The Pista has the same brakes as the base 488, and they're undoubtedly a weak point. Going for Surface Transforms rotors / Pagid pads has been a huge improvement on my GTB; that still does not make it a race car though.
The 296 has apparently (finally) better brakes, but their price has been significantly increased.

 

None of these are race cars. It's such a big difference, the biggest being grip and consumables. It's silly to think that more than 1% of owners will thrash these type of cars on track regularly. The type of owner who can afford to really thrash a Pista, probably has a Senna GTR. And many other more suitable cars.

 

Part of me wants to get a spec Miata to brutalize on the track. At the same time, if we, as owners, enjoy our Ferraris and McLarens so much and also enjoy tracking, then we should just do it. I find myself trying to rationalize that thought process, at least. I am also not in a position to have a Senna GTR, so my thought process is a bit different than some others, but I mean that in terms of getting like say a Roma for the road and a Miata for the track.

 

I track my Pista.

It's probably worthless now.

But that's ok.

It's only money.

And I can't take it with me when I die.

And die I will.

It's really just that simple.

 

The MF sounded fantastic in the cabin while tracking it, that's for sure. You have the right mentality. Everyone gets so caught up in the values, too. Before COVID, the Pista values were not too high, but they shot like crazy. Your tracked Pista (if anyone even knew) is still worth more than before some uncontrollable event skewed everyone's perception of car values.

What do I know, dude? I am just lucky to even be here. Happy to hear you are enjoying that beautiful machine. Stay safe

 

Makes sense. I have a lot of experience managing tires and brakes so I'm not surprised if you had trouble. Takes a lot of experience on track.

 

Thrashing a race car is not necessarily cheap in consumables - my understanding is that running a 488 Challenge as a track car is more expensive than using a road car. The Challenge is obviously faster though.