296 VS

The main evolution for 296 was in making it more environmentally friendly, but insofar as evolving into a better looking car, or an ergonomically improved car with more user friendly controls, im not sure if anyone could say it suceeded very well in any of these areas. The main success of the car appears to be that it uses less fuel while going faster in a straight line. However the cost to provide the emmision benefit, passed on to the buyer - which is not only unrecoverable when they go to sell the car - is a major detractor it would appear. If what im saying here is incorrect then why has there been no drop off in both price and interest in the superceeded ice models? Sadly the evidence speaks volumes.
Now on a positive note, the 296 does drive well for a Ferrari, but does it drive notably better for the significant uptick in price over and above the F8 and Pista? Its a tough call when you consider there are many trade offs. One thing i have personally found is thst im having to pay a lot more money for a car which has evidently much less desirability in the secondary market, which does not bode well for resale values, again evidence that the car is clearly way overpriced for what it represents. So all this claimed monumental evolution hasn’t amounted to anything of any real benefit least of all value to the buyer.

 

It drives way better. Sounds better. And is significantly quicker.

 

all in the 296 is a MASSIVE step over the 458 era cars. I have owned (almost) all of the special edition mid engine cars, production cars etc and the 296 is miles ahead. There really is no comparison. Basing your opinion on other peoples opinions (especially people who have never driven a 296 etc) is kind-a silly.

PS What happens when interest rates on car loans fall? Most finance their cars and payments etc matter. Add to this fear of falling values. When that turns around (its happening now) its possible that today's Ferrari sf90/ 296 will look almost 'cheap'. Add to this the inevitable effects of inflation (look at gold prices..gold is expecting more inflation) This market cycle happens every 10-15 years. Look at Scuderia prices. Those cars were $300k forever, hanging around their MSRP. Why? In 2008/ 09 the economy was a mess. Point being, lots of factors control values. And hybrid or not is low on the list of what people car about.

 

Personally I have not found it way better or significantly faster than my Pista and I believe Ive spent enough time in one in varying settings to form a worthwhile opinion on it - have one on order due as well - so Im not saying its an inferior or unworthy as a purchase even though the price is utterly ridiculous when I look at what I'm getting for my money vs my Pista. It (296) does not motivate me to sell my Pista in-fact only solidifies my ownership. I find the Pista feels more special as a car to both drive and look at, and feels more of an organic driving experience overall, certainly feels roomier inside too, and is by far less frustrating to use the controls which Im sure at one point I will get my head around (hopefully).

I would however agree with 09Scuderia that 296 is a "massive" step up against any 458 and the 488gtb which I have found rather overrated and disappointing as drivers cars given all the hype you read, especially against certain competitors which really show them up.

 

comparing a Pista (had one, loved it) vs a production 296 isn't really fair. Wait for the VS. Isn't the 296 quicker vs the Pista overall? I believe it is.
https://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/rvlgfr8errvt

The Pistas mission isn't the same as a 296. Its more of a A to A car. (fun drives from your garage...and then back home) the 296 is an A to A car and a A to B car...I would happily take my 296 on tour across many miles vs the Pista. Again, love the Pista but its mission is not the same as a 296. The Pista is the peak version from the 458 generation of cars.

Will be interesting to see what Pista values do when the 296VS/ XX msrp is announced. I bet that Pista values will increase along with all the other mid engine special Ferraris because the entry point with the 296 won't be cheap.

 

Factory-spec rear-wheel drive 296 trapping 1/4 at 149.6mph is completely insane. Full stop. Comes with full interior, AC, decent stereo, and EV mode when you need to be stealthy.
While I miss my 812 and F8, they are nowhere near the performance and versatility of the 296 platform. Looking forward to 296VS.

 

Yes all good valid points, and the numbers don't lie there, and, at the power level of these two, and knowing it's rare to be able to pin the throttle for any length of period, the point of which is the faster accelerating tends to lose significance in the grand scheme of things and then other factors come more into play. Both great cars to drive and very accomplished as machines! Agree it will be interesting to see what the 296 VS represents and how values pan out on the regular production 296's but I don't see Pista moving much from where it is. I would see 296 vs as being more of an addition rather than a replacement for Pista - that is unless it looks so amazing and drives so much better it relegates Pista in these areas.

 

another option, just be thrilled forever with your Pista. There is always something to newer, faster, sexier, etc to want. The key is to love what you have. I am working on that personally.

 

The eco friendly nature of the 296 is just a "nice" side-effect of the tremendous hybrid ability to generate instant power at any RPM and compliment the IC engine in the most flattering way. It is a monster in performance and the AF Pack gets you a little more "rawness" if you are seeking a Pista-like experience.

The 296 is superior in every metric to the past generations but beauty is always subjective. I think the heptic controls LOOK nice and clean. The controls I use the most are behind the steering wheel and they are conventional.

I really really like the 488 GTB / Pista platform. The 488 GTB is so appealing right now because it's a steal at some of these prices; the f8 not so much. The F8 was never a blip on my radar. The F8 was really Ferrari's stopgap to patch the bleeding from the Mclaren 570s / 720s onslaught at the time and it fell short despite being newer.

Although my primary reason I am not a big fan of the F8 is because of the current cost / performance ratio vs. the 488 GTB and the 296 GTB. F8 is not a "bad car" at all, the looks are amazing, but the value isn't there at the moment.

If the F8 became a bargain closer to the 488 then I would reconsider.

All this considered I wouldn't "replace" the Pista with X car, I would wait until a car came out I enjoyed and add that new car to my collection. For me it would be the 296 GTB if I did not already own one.

I am casually browsing for a nice spec used 488 GTB to maybe or maybe not gently "tune".

I would add another Mclaren 7xx to my garage or a Lambo Huracan + VF Engineering kit before I would pay the current F8 used prices now.

 

I can’t see myself being eternally thrilled with any car regardless of what it is and how good it is because there will always be something better. I love Pista and whilst it isn’t my current favourite, it still has enough charm and enjoyment attached to the ownership experience to warrant keeping it in my collection. 296 has shown to have its own charm and for that reason alone im happy to own one even though its ridiculously expensive for what it physically represents.

 

Crucially (maybe against all odds) it is quicker not only on the straight lines, but also in the corners.

 

I merely meant the adaptation of hybrids in limited cars. Not obviously comparing resale value's of the top of the line hypercar versus the almost entry level limited.

 

I drove my Pista back to back against a 296 on the track. Trashed both and the 296 was seconds faster per lap.

 

Owned the Pista and now a 296. I honestly prefer the feel of the 296 over the Pista. It feels significantly quicker in a straight line and handles better (IMO). Looks wise, 296 is far less aggressive, curvy and reminds me of older classics, people love it. Pista is a bit in your face. Love the 296 (except the UI).

 

Ferrari as a publicly traded company is increasingly smart. I view things this way: With the SF90, you have the base model, the AF model (which to me is along the lines of a VS, like the Pista or Speciale, with just enough going on to differentiate it from the base model), and now the XX model which is a whole new evolution of the road car. I suspect the same kind of thing to happen with the 296VS, and maybe that one taking more from the challenge car. Who knows what we will get, but it'll look killer and be loads of fun to drive. I wasn't offered an sf90XX from the company, and I have accepted that, and now am rather more excited for the 296VS. I have spent limited time in a 296, but the excitement I felt driving around the dealer's area was much more available to me than the SF90 Spider I have. The 296 reminded me of my old Pista, or even the 458s I've had. The SF90 is brilliantly fast and handles on rails, but if you're not driving it hard....meh. I don't get excited for it. Hand me the keys of my over-specced, one-of-a-kind TM AF SF90 Spider, or my launch spec 2nd hand Speciale keys, and I'll take the Speciale every time. Living in a city, driving 40mph in that car is intoxicating, and I miss that drama in the sf90, but hope the 296AF will capture more of that and increase it with the VS.

 

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For show-off factor, there is no contest; the Pista wins hands down (because everybody knows it was expensive and - sort of - limited and exclusive, and it shouts to the world with its in-your-face body kit) . For performance however, I would argue that the 296 is on another planet.
From my experience on the track, a Pista is only marginally faster than a 488 GTB - it only requires slightly better skills from a 488 GTB driver to match a Pista.
On the other hand, I believe there would need a very big difference in drivers' skills for a Pista to match a 296 on a track.
Besides, no doubt the UI and haptic controls of the 296 are terrible - but no car is perfect

 

I'm not so sure this is a big improvement on the normal 296.

 

I didn't find that. I owned a 488gtb long enough and put enough miles on it both on rd and track to know Pista was on a completely different level. 488 gib was a dog to drive in comparison to the Pista. Otoh 296 on track was clearly fast - you could feel the 800+ hp - which gave it an advantage - but overall was clearly a road car and ultimately out of its element in comparison to the track inspired Pista, which overall felt better suited to circuit. A better lap time doesn't make 296 in any way a track car and the cost of running one on track would be horrendous considering the replacement cost a a set of front brake pads alone which are viurtually double the cost off a Pista, and they aren't exactly cheap. Whilst neither are properly suited to the track out of the box in comparison to an Rs Porsche the Pista is the more viable in that setting and feels more organic. I certainly won't be tracking my 296 more than a handful of laps - there are far better cars for that line of use. Now where the VS comes into play is yet to be seen, but if all it is is a faster version of 296 again then its basically going to be even less viable to use on a track unless Ferrari do some serious work on the brakes so they at least last a day and don't break the bank to change. Based on history something tells me I'll be sticking with my rs's for the track - and keeping the 296/-VS 99% for road

 

Out of curiosity how much does it cost for the front pads replacement and the brake discs replacement?

I plan to go on track with my 296 that’s arriving next week.

 

brake pads are a few hundred (not entirely sure!); however brake discs around 15K, But those should last you many, many track days.

 

Check with your dealer to be sure but my enquiry with service dept revealed they were @ 3.5k (usd) for the front set. Disc rotors would be another extremely ugly story but of course should last a lot longer. Service said the demo cars assigned for track basically chewed through a set of pads in a day to day and a half depending upon who was driving. Of course being demo's, Ferrari marketing was picking up the tab.

 

Parts manager at the US corso pilota events told me the 296 goes through 1 set of pads and rotor every week to 10 days of of use. Not sure how accurate that was but I can imagine that use is pretty hard on the brakes given the lack of proper warm up and cool down. He said to expect 10-15 real track days with a hard driven 296 and that because of material transfer they change both pads and rotors. Again, take with a grain of salt. We all know it's not going to be cheap tracking these cars. I'm hopeful that Surface Transforms starts building a kit for our cars. I've had and seen good results with them on Porsches.

 

Apparently the 296 pads are awfully expensive, and so far there is no alternative. Hopefully that will change over time.