From V12 to Hybrid: My First Week with the Ferrari 296 GTB (and McLaren 720S Comparison)

Enthusiast must mean martyr?

 

Nobody “needs” these cars we are discussing.

 

Ha!

I am definitely not an enthusiast either. I am enthusiastic, however!

 

I probably had my first sports car before you were born. Who appointed you the judge in defining an enthusiast? Can you even drive a manual transmission?

 

All because he said it doesn’t make it so. He also said it a long time ago- much has changed. He also hated the F12- which watching his video was very odd. Regardless, I owned and loved my 458 for 7 years. I sold it because the brakes sucked and occasionally failed. The steering besides being hyper active was somewhat numb. It was and still is a great (and imperfect) car. The engine was peak 8 cylinder N/A.

 

Semantics, nobody "needs" more money past the point of basic survival. The moral of the story is, it is idiotic to say you don't need any more power when you could simply have it without having the need or want of deploying it, therefore I never get the argument but hey, it is what it is.

 

That's debatable, I definitely need mine to cure my disease

 

If sound is the most important to you- the F355 engine sound is superior to the 458. Most back catalog V12’s sound better too. The Testarossa from the late 80’s sounds way better and remains iconic. Both of those cars still look great and are comparatively cheap to purchase- especially the convertible 355. The back catalog is loaded with great sounding engines in cars that are otherwise inferior to a 296 (which sounds good if not great) and they’re still great cars.

Sound is important to me, but one of many facets of the joy of sports car ownership. I look for the best package- sum-of-the-parts with my purchases. And to each his own. Anyone lucky enough to own any of these cars is blessed.

 

Taking the 355 for a spin is a different kind of enjoyment than taking the 296…

They are not mutually exclusive, just different. Some people are either one or the other, I guess. I just enjoy them all for what they are.

 

Of course you’re right. Unless you can have only one.

 

Okay I just test drove a 750 and 296, both spiders. My impressions were both cars are crazy fast, handle amazing, and actually sound pretty good (not as good as my Evo or 355 - but not terrible). They both look cool. The 296 felt more roomy inside and luxurious. The 750 felt more like a race car. Now I’m even more confused about which one to buy. I’m not looking immediately so maybe in a few months the deals will get better.

Im also not sure I need more speed than my Evo. Im already scared of going to jail and getting my car impounded

 

To be brutally honest the 355 in stock form sounds muted compared to a stock 458. The Ferrari V8s gained their strong voice with the 430, prior to that they were restrained; musical, but restrained. Not a bad thing per se, I sometimes felt embarrassed by the raucous bark of the 430 when passing through quiet neighbourhoods.

 

both is the answer. But I’m preferring the 296 in coupe form due to less weight

 

That wou

That would be true for sure. If I could only have one Ferrari, I would keep the 812. My wife enjoys riding in that one but is uncomfortable in the 296 or 355. If it was between the 355 and 296, I would pick the 296.

 

The quality of the sound is more important than the volume.

 

After thinking more about this. In a perfect world, I would semi-retire and have a 330 GTC. I would find someone to teach me how to keep the car running and do all the mechanic things myself because I would have time to do it! That would be my one and only car if I could make that happen.

 

I think I said that exact same thing over there. Drive them and pick whichever you like best. Different strokes... No wrong answers but I'm always amazed how people sit back and argue what is the better car for someone.