They made a huge mistake using the Speciale moniker. Henry Catchpole says exactly that during his vid review.
What's funny is, back in 2014, 458 Speciale review vids said: "Where in the world does Ferrari go from here - how in the world do you improve on this." Whereas today with 296 Speciale review vids, they say: "Hope there's an XX variant, as this leaves me flat."
A manual V6 non-hybrid 296 could be good. It couldn’t be too limited though because of development cost. Doubt they’ll do it.
Y'all catch that they are going to have another version above the Speciale? What do you think about that?
With the talk of a potential version above the Speciale — possibly an XX as R&T hinted — I do wonder how this affects buyers who already have their allocations locked in. Do you think anyone is now second-guessing their build after the early reviews? Not necessarily cancelling, but maybe pausing to see whether the rumored XX materializes? I’d imagine the larger majority of customers will still proceed as planned — the Speciale is still a huge event in itself — but I could see a small or sizeable group opting to pass or hold out, which might free up a few allocations for others. What do you think?
Fact - Ferrari knew they would say exactly what they said - did Ferrari get all their deposits in before - yes. Does it matter, not at all. The only way to get an XX was to hold the SF90 and it will more than pay off. My hope is something else does come and it only goes to VS owners having an XX on the way but it's taken 3 years. XX or whatever the next, will also take 3 years. Enjoy what they just showed - there will always be another great Ferrari - old and new but 100% Ferrari shared the next gen coming to the reviewers - they love it! Now they have everyone once again back on the what's next hook - sheesh this one is 2 years away.
knowing Ferrari you’ll probably need this one to even be considered for the more hardcore version. I was originally planning to go all out with a Tailor Made build, but now I might keep it a bit more conventional. Not because I’m planning to sell, but future residuals could take a hit if an XX or even wilder version comes later. That said, it’s exciting times — Ferrari clearly has a few surprises up its sleeve with the 296 lineup.
Regarding the two different suspensions mentioned in the reviews (fixed and adaptive) - I am not aware of a dedicated option, so what determines which suspension you get?
Pretty obvious why Ferrari waited to allow reviews and it’s the mention of the XX car. I think there will be people who will drop out.
If you want the lift and "bumpy" mode you will go for the adaptive magneride, if you want the actually track oriented setup you will go for the multimatic (evolution of what is on the Assetto Fiorano 296, for which there was not this possibility since the non AF version was the one with the magneride). On the regular 296, it was clearer IMHO - you had a version more oriented for comfort road use, and another (the AF pack) oriented for occasional track use. The Speciale is assumed to be track oriented, but now you have the possibility to opt for a more road oriented setup - I guess it's for customers more interested in the exclusivity than in the track orientation - after all, it makes sense for a vendor to address all different customer priorities.
The best thing I've heard in a long time from a new Ferrari. It starts at minute 6:40. "The 296 Speciale sounds better from the outside than from the inside." That means there's finally a Ferrari with a proper exhaust note again, unlike the 849 Testarossa or even the standard 296 GTB.
I wonder how that would work time wise. We are due for the refresh soon, right? After they get through the orders for the 296S/SA, I don’t see how they’d fit a more hardcore variant before the 296M comes.
So is it a tuned AF suspension if you don’t opt for the lifter? And bumpy road is only for the lifter and softer setup?
Yep, that's it. And the reason why they provided one setup for the road test, and the other for the track test. I' m not sure it was the best decision though, a more hardcore setup during the road test might have made the car feel more special (on the track, it's only about efficiency).
