Congratulations! I found my AF GTB felt like the suspension became just a touch more pliant with some miles, though it could have just been me getting used to it.
Tough to capture Rosso Maranello. Wish we could upload videos. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The 296 is very quiet at low RPMs but really Rewards in tone and volume for chasing the revs. It gets much, much louder by 7-8k.
Again, this could be purely psychological, but with cars that have GPF, I found after the first 4-600 miles the exhaust seemed to get a touch more clear/ louder. Others who are not in the cars that often confirmed the same but they might have just been saying “sure”…. My hypothesis is there is something in there between the GPF/Cats/ Etc/ that kind of burns off in the first few hundred miles. This was most pronounced on the Portofino M. But I think it’s with all the GPF cars.
Beautiful color, you captured it well, its like a less punchy Rosso Magma, or more accurately, Rosso Magma is like a more crazy Rosso Maranello, it is a gorgeous, classy color.
I'm toying with the idea of Maranello for the Speciale. I'm not sure it's the character of a VS car, but it's just so darn good. I'm curious as to what other reds TM has. Maybe Supercar if it's available. Also considering Magma and lipstick, along with TRS.
I’m sure you’ll nail it. I kind of think Magma since it’s the most flamboyant. You already have Magma though, so you’re familiar. Lipstick looks kind of pinky to me in certain photos. TRS could be cool, but it’s so similar to Rosso Corsa in the shade.
I drove a couple of AFs back to back with non AF and noticed not as much extra bounciness on an undulating road section - but more that after the road was done undulating there was some residual up and down body motion. Talked to my dealer when ordering new GTB and he said yes that's expected/it's designed for track not street. Actual bumpiness I didn't notice much of, and the turn-in and agility was definitely a bit sharper on the street but 296 non AF still beats most or more of the sub $1m and street-legal alternatives.
On a smooth road, there's no question that the AF is superior, but I have some where it's so bumpy that my foot on the throttle is pulsating with the bumps. lol
I’m now leading with Maranello for the 296SA. Maybe supercar if it’s available, but Maranello can’t be beat!
The car is definitely getting quicker with more miles. Bang on Ferraris claim and the DA still isn’t great. Did 2.99 0-100 km/h (2.9 to 60) on this run so you can do the math. Some wheel spin at the beginning. Tough to get a really good launch of the street. Maybe the car needs fresh cup 2 Rs to do 2.7 0-60’s or better. But this is probably a 9.9 second 1/4 if kept in it. my 1/8 mile on this run was 6.63 at 116.87 mph. I find dragy quite frustrating in that the slopes are rarely accurate and the sat signal is also low. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You can toggle between odometer and trip odometer for the lower left display. The option is in the menu. I can list the steps when the dealership returns the car.
Jo Sta7, Thank you for posting such an informative review. 1 question- When you say "Traction control is spectacular. Car barely spins. Just goes. Ferrari nailed it. Confidence inspiring to the max" are you talking about it hooking up well from a roll or from a dead stop at zero MPH when the light turns green? If you mean from a dead stop, do you need to go easy on the throttle at all, or can you just hammer it and let the car do the rest? Thanks, Geno
I just did corsa pilota sport at Sonoma followed by Race. The 296 is unbelievable on the track and the 296 challenge car in Race was unreal. It was great to get some high speed laps in the 296 gtb. I absolutely love mine and I have a whole new level of appreciate of that this car can do. You have a lot of different levels of expperice in the Sport program and the cars were thrashed a bit but some in the skid pad and other exercises and the cars held up without an issue…outside of tire changes.
