That car will always hold a special place in my heart. Sadly, now even if you have the money for a track-focused version of the car, you have to be in the VIP list to get a shot. Love the ethos of the 992 GT3 (it doesn't even have trunk space, I love it), but I know I didn't buy enough Porsches to ever be able to spec one no matter how much money I throw at them.
Let's play "who said it?" @Chicko “....... to be honest with you, if you have a car with the perfect setup for the Nürburgring, it will be a dog on the street and everywhere else.” You can Google it obviously. It may surprise you who said this. (But what does that guy know that you don't right?)
There are 2 new models presented at Finali Mondiali this year. 1: The 296 Challenge 2: Some kind of Race Car / Hyper Car perhaps.
Pista Speciale Scuderia Challenge Stradale Competizione tdf GTO XX I'm sure it will be a completely new name.
I normally send in a letter with a deposit for an "unnamed" car that matches a certain description, eg "V6 Hybrid Sports Series" for the 296 GTB/GTS. Whilst that is no guarantee I will get a car, particularly if Ferrari are deciding upon or putting pre-conditions on allocations, it does mean my deposit is one of the first on their system.
I’ve heard this from lots of people outside the US. In the US I’ve heard you can’t put a deposit down until the car is unveiled or you’re invited to (pre-sell limited series). Has anyone seen otherwise? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
With this I would think you will have had to have owned a few models and need to have had a 296 to be considered , just as the allocation for the 488 pista was
This is how it appears it is going to work in the US now. No deposits before unveiling for regular car.
"Thanks man, that will nicely go into a US Treasury money market fund so I can get some yield on that free money. Cheers!"
Since the 296 Challenge has been revealed, we get a better glimpse of what the 296VS will be. Atleast 40PS more from the V6 engine. They won't 'tune' the hybrid system so any additional power will come from the ICE only. Substantial weight savings on this "light Ferrari" will be tough to achieve. I'm guessing here a -40kg weight saving + 40ps more for the VS car next to a bit more agressive design but in no way a 296XX version.
Challenge has +37 PS, you think the street VS will get bigger bump for ICE engine? Why no tuning for the electric motor - didn't they do it for SF90 XX?
I'm 99% speculating here..... and basing the 1% off my experiences with my 488 Challenge en Pista. The Pista engine is the same as the Challenge engine. So everything they learned from that engine was passed on the Pista/F8 engine. I suspect they will do the same with Challenge engine and VS engine. Tuning the electric motor is a differnet game then 'simply' increasing boost on a turbo engine. Hence why I doubt they will opt for a change of that part. When you look at the recent jumps in performance, they seem to be getting smaller and smaller. So why do a large gap. AND there is the obvious elephant in the room... the SF90(xx). Can Ferrari allow the 296VS to be faster then the current halo car... I doubt it as it's a marketing nightmare! One thing we do know is that the 296VS will be an absolute beast!
A different approach to getting more from the hybrid system would be to use denser battery technology that needs fewer modules to deliver the same, or improved range/life (duration), whilst reducing the weight. The denser technology is available but Ferrari might not want to deploy such today.
I have a feeling the new special series cars will have minor power upgrades and just distinct styling features. AKA we might be paying a lot for just a different body kit (SF90XX!)
The newest cars are becoming more and more versatile, and the so-called track-oriented versions are becoming marketing exercises with showing off being the main target - with each generation, this trend is reaching another level since the 360 CS. The 355 Challenge was a road legal race car, but afterwards the evolution could be expected.