The 296 might as well replace the Porsche GT car series as the sensible track car choice?

The recent Micha Charoudin video on the 296 on the Nurburgring really made me think as to how we and the general public perceive Ferrari vis-a-vis Porsche as a weekend/gentleman racing cars and not just a toy to drive around Monaco or Marbella…




I sometimes race my 992 GT3 on a track and while it is all fun and lovely I feel that it is definitely lacking in power on the longer straights, and another couple of hundred of horses would very much make these track days quite a bit more exciting…

Now I also own a few Ferrari V12s and while I did take them all (aside from my 550 Maranello) to do a few laps I do not perceive them as cars which I would actually race frequently, all the HP notwithstanding, as still being a bit heavy and unwieldy, and mentally a bit too costly for me for real track work if something breaks..

And now comes the 296, not the VS of course, but the plain ole standard second-hand 296 GTB, one you can easily acquire for just around EUR250k and not be too afraid to push it hard and fast and actually race it…

And this I’d say somewhat favorable used 296 market pricing gets us very much inside the 992 GT3RS price range and almost at the plain GT3 level while you get a much more powerful, a very agile and I might even imagine (not having driven one, though) a more fun track car?

Which might actually and surprisingly be a better choice than a Porsche GT3 if you enjoy taking your car to a track?

What do you think?

Have anyone actually switched from a 911 GT3 to a GTB and have not looked back?

 

I would question if a Ferrari would be as durable of a car as a porsche. I took my Roma on a 3 day road trip in the Rockies and the vibrations and shakes and rattles that developed over the trip was pretty disconcerting. That’s never happened with my 911

 

For more power than a GT3 and the same use, a GT2 may be a better choice than a 296.
A 296 will be as fast (if not more) but I suspect the running costs will be higher with the Ferrari; also the Porsche are more commonly used on track so that any issue will be known, documented and solved (and one gets many options for track-adapted equipement, beyond the standard setup), whereas problems on the Ferrari will require investigations (not helped by the complexity if the system). It may change with the car aging, but Ferrari's policy and the 7-year maintenance program also virtually eliminate the availability for adapted non OEM parts (e.g. no Pagid pads for the 296).
The 296 could be brilliant for occasional track use (and it would give the Porsche a run for their money) but for more intensive track use I would not be confident and I do not think it's a sensible choice.

A Pista or F8 with upgraded brakes (which are available) and Cup2 tyres may be a better solution - not as fast as a 296 but still significantly more powerful than a GT3, and probably easier to live with (for regular track use) than a 296.

 

I had a 992 GT3 and sold it after a year. If you're sole purpose is to track the car, perhaps the GT3 is better because maintenance will be cheaper than the 296. Aside from that, the 296 is the better car and incredibly more fun to drive and slow and fast speeds.

 

Thank you for your feedback. My F12 and 812 have been rather sturdy, even when driven on rather poor roads, while the GT3 shakes and rattles even when not moving

But yes, reliability is a question. I have lots of friends who race various kinds of 911s, not necessarily GT even, but the regular Carreras and Turbos and no one ever complained about the car overheating or say the brakes going soft.

296 looks like a pretty sorted sports car for the track job, but yes, hard to tell how it really behaves over sustained track stress..

 

I still have my GT3 and a 997 GT2, but frankly enjoy driving my V12 Ferraris much more, though not on track..

For hobby racing, it is an interesting dilemma. You'd be much faster in a 296, I'd argue they are even different classes of cars than a GT3, but can it sustain say a continous hour of track work, that is the question.

Clearly the brakes need to be swapped for steel, and maybe maybe everything else can stay if you go for an AF version, but still a big unknown

 

Steel discs and steel brakes lines would be needed (they are available, which is goods news) - but then you're exposed to Ferrari policy against non OEM setups, which might be concerning since you're likely to need Ferrari help at some point, given the complexity of the car - whenever there will be whatever failure (which will most certainly happen, nothing is bullet proof, and certainly the ultra complex hybrid power plant is not).

 

You’re spot on, the 296 GTB really blurs the line between a road-going Ferrari and a genuine track car. Light, agile, and with that hybrid boost, it can feel more exciting than a GT3 on the right circuits.

I know a few folks who’ve swapped from a 992 GT3 to a 296 GTB and say they’ve never looked back, the Ferrari gives more usable power mid-corner and the chassis balance is brilliant. The only downside is costs if you scratch it, but as you said, it’s still a car you can push without sweating every lap.

 

I loved this video and I kept thinking that if he'd driven the GTB with AF package he'd be even more amazed and the things he missed would have been a non-issue. The multimatic suspension on the AF plus the aero would have made a HUGE difference for Micha.

Having said this, it's hard to sub the GT3 (at least the 992) when it comes to track experience. The 9k RPM limit, the sound, the aero, etc, just makes it very very special. I'm lucky to own both and it's really hard to tell which one I enjoy more (although I prefer the 296 in general over the GT3).

Maintenance wise, of course if you're going to track it hard, the costs will be much higher. But I'm not sure I'd be worried about reliability. Other than some of those battery issues (which I'm still not certain how bad they really are, I've had none), the car is rock solid - and I just got back from a heavy private track day where I pushed it to the limit for hours and didn't miss a beat...

Last but not least, nowadays the 296 GTBs are actually so low in price that it's not too far from a low-mileage 992 GT3! It's a steal!

 

I love my 296 and am not a fan of gt3, have driven it on track once. But I do agree that for sustained serious track work, gt3 is probably still better in terms of having less headache to deal with. Mechanically it's much simpler without the hybrid system. And bare boned alcantera interior vs more lush leather feels more suitable for the occasion. 296 will be more fun for sure at least to my taste. I don’t care about technologically clean lap times. I want to feel the rush and the g forces pushing me around.

 

The only thing the GT3 has over the 296 is weight, or lack thereof.

And, at least in the US, depending on your track (and who owns it, private or public), you may not be able to track a hybrid car.

Aside from those two caveats, I would track a 296 every day and three times on Sunday over a GT3.

 

I had a 992 gt3 for 2 years before I sold it for my 750s. Absolutely phenomenal track car but I had issues which I’ll get to in a moment. Some of THE best track fun I ever had was with a gt3 where I took it to half a dozen track days. Unfortunately that ruined the experience for me on the regular roads just too slow and gutless below 5k rpm.

As for issues I had absolutely terrible oil consumption almost a quart every 600-800 miles, and lightweight glass broke no less than 3 different times. Porsches aren’t perfect and neither are Ferraris but the Ferrari has a way bigger envelope of fun/perf