0-200 kilometers per hour in 6.7 seconds !!!

Driving the 296 GTB on the 29th at Ferrari of Houston in real world. Cannot wait.

 

jesus. that's faster than 765LT. a plaid might still be faster, but would depend on how fresh it is.

 

We'll see how it performs once the GPS readers are attached. But I expect this car to be hilariously quick. It has 830 HP......

 

I can confirm that the Plaid feels faster, and by quite a margin. It's just savage in a straight line at every speed! The 296 doesn't feel nearly as immediate and brutal on acceleration. I expected that to be the case before driving the 296 and, even then, the magnitude of the difference caught me a little bit by surprise. Just goes to show how impressive it is what Tesla managed to create with the Plaid's powertrain.

That said, the 296 has PLENTY of power, plus all of the other things that put a smile on my face (quick reflexes, whistles, whooshes, pops and whhaaaaaaa-whaaaaaaaa-whaaaaa!). Still well worth the purchase, and I will consider myself one helluva lucky guy to have both in the garage! They're two incredible examples of the state of the art in automotive performance, achieving very different goals exceptionally well.

 

I much prefer the Italian aural symphony that does not accompany a Tesla experience.

 

I have a Model 3 P and it feels about as fast as my 458 up til about 85 (458 wins up top) but it's soulless. It's no different than my coffeemaker. It's an appliance I turn on, do something with, and turn off. I suppose it's a mark against it, but I think for me it's the perfect daily driver. I just don't see myself moving into an RS5, M3, etc... at the price point.

I'm test driving the 296 this weekend, hoping to put down a deposit if it feels right.

 

Think Car & Driver had the big boy last year hit 6.1 secs 0-200km/h and 2.0 secs dead 0-60mph..certainly the fastest most addictive car I’ve driven.. tour de force

 

Might as well put your name in now before the test drives so you don't end up at the back of the queue when people at the test drive in your area realize how awesome it is.

 

Oh, I totally agree with you on that front! One of the many reasons that I am excited to own both!

 

296 test drive report:
Was at Ferrari of Houston yesterday to test drive the 296 after placing my deposit last year. Love those guys--great folks to deal with. Two GTBs and one GTS with the Assetto Fiorano pack were there. Yellow GTB had racing seats. I drove the Rosso corsa GTB with comfort seats with Daytona stripes (which is what I ordered). Plenty of cabin room, with the seat fully back and I adjusted the steering wheel to suit me. The gauge cluster and controls was very favorable, although the turn signals were not intuitive and the manual cancellation took some getting used to. Drove the car for about 15 minutes, which is enough to form a decent first impression given the limited nature of the available roads which were only the service roads and freeway,. The openings in the traffic limited the ability to stretch the legs of the 296, and provided no chance to test its cornering ability. Performed no standing start; however, the straight line acceleration when rolling is epic. Akin to loosing the hounds from hell with the aural accompaniment of 1,000 banshees wailing. We blasted from 40 mph to 140 mph in seconds and tossed out the anchor as the traffic ahead closed. The gearbox is almost seamless, with no banging of shifts. The downshifts provide burbles, popping and other glorious sounds. I heard no turbo whistle or other indication of their presence, which some commentators have noted.The steering feels light and the wheel thickness in my hands was just right for me. My overall impression is that Ferrari has a definite winner with this little rocket.

P.S. Parked side by side, it is much lower in height than a 458, which surprised me.

 

296 is supposedly 46.73 inches while the 458 is 47.8 inches.