296 gtb test drive and 296gts viewing. sounds great firm ride even in comfort mode very good brakes roomy cabin. im 6’ tall 185 very attractive cabin. carbon/leather steering wheel very comfortable car sits low so exiting cabin is a little tough. i managed 0-60 in 2.7 sec. and prob could have been quicker w more experience. light colored interior shows dirt electric mode is slow. not tesla fast. rear visibility is very limited. steering wheel touch controls are ok but i would prefer a button w feedback. nice turbo pop off valve sound. turbos make a whirling sound. very cool engine glass is smoke so cant see engine thru glass. not the prettiest engine compartment. large electrical cables very visible. fast car with great handling. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I went to the Sonoma 296 event today. Man, Ferrari knows how to throw an event! Fast cars, barista, juice bar, caviar and apps, and a wine bar with some truly yummy stuff to sample. There are good days and there are great days, This was one of the latter On the 296, a few observations: • To corroborate popular opinion, the GTB sounds great! Not particularly loud, but really good. Online videos do not do it justice. And lowering the windows unleashes another layer of noises. The turbo whine and blow-off sounds, which are barely audible with the windows up, are directed right into your ear with the glass down! Plenty of pops and burbles are audible at low speeds. • They weren’t doing drives of the GTS, but I started it up while in the driver’s seat with the top down. It sounded much louder - of course it would, being topless! IMO it’ll be the model to have in every regard. • I was surprised at how supportive the standard seats are. I knew they’d be comfy, but they hug ya’ too! If the race seats didn’t look so damn cool, I’d honestly go for the standard seats because of their excellent balance between support and comfort (and I’m a guy who insists on CF buckets in Porsche cars). Might actually opt for ventilated seats in the GTS…we’ll see. • The car is fast! That said, it doesn’t feel Model S Plaid fast by any means. I was expecting the electric motor to give a bit of extra kick when planting the right foot, but didn’t really feel it (caveat: didn’t try Qualifying mode). Still, it’s more than fast enough to land you in the slammer very quickly, so I’m not complaining… • Shifts don’t kick you in the kidneys. They’re lighting fast but smooth, unless you’re on a low-traction surface where the wheelspin can make the shifts a bit more brutal-feeling. • The cabin feels smaller than I expected, but I really liked it. Feels really high-end, sporty and solid. “Cockpit” is an apt description. • IMO the black ceramic exhaust opening is the way to go. It looks slick, and makes the rear end less fussy. • I want physical buttons. The haptic stuff works just fine, though, so I’ll get over it. • I felt like the GTB glass engine cover was plenty easy to see through. Maybe the sunny day helped it? The GTS glass engine cover is quite small, though. I’m glad they made the effort to include it, since it still creates a sense of occasion, but don’t expect more than a glimpse of the power unit through it… • The “Ferrari badge key” is beyond silly. It’s big and has very little functionality. And somehow I still love it. Haha! • I have deposits on a GTB and GTS, and have yet to see the car until today. My brain struggled to recognize that it was really there in front of me. It just looks like a car out of a magazine…it just has that kind of presence…and I’ve been spending so much time on YouTube and other corners of the internet ogling it. It’s great looking in the flesh, though! Clearly exotic, and very elegantly so. Truly worthy of the Ferrari badge. Overall, it feels special, fast, practical and fun. Not overwhelmingly so in any one of those categories, but solidly in all. That makes it car worth having IMO. After all of these months waiting for it, deposits having been given, I’m surer happy and even a bit relieved. Not that I didn’t think Ferrari would deliver, but I’ll admit that I wasn’t wowed by the F8 and was worried the 296 would continue on that trajectory. Instead, it reversed course, delivering an improvement in every regard that matters to me. Bravo Ferrari! Now, just get busy making these things so I can take delivery! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Rosso Corsa on the GTBs and Rosso Imola on the GTS. Think we’ll have some fun and do Rosso Dino on our GTS! Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Thank you for the write up. Apparently there are not many GTS around. That’s the one from Ferrari NY in the TM studio. Just curious did you notice how many miles are on it at this point ? Can you comment on the seats as Mr India has made me second guess my seats. Thoughts on the GTS vs Coupe if one were to choose between ? Lastly fast or just quick ? Hard to k ow on a company drive event but ….. asking for a friend. Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I drove the 296 coupe at Watkins Glen for about 30 min with the standard seats which were very comfortable. I also got to test drive the sf90 coupe which had the Carbon seats and they were a tad less comfortable so if you have any back issues I'd recommend the standard seats although the look of the CF are very apropos for the SF90 IMO. We took our Pista Spider up to WG from NJ which has the racing seats which were okay but as long as you stopped a couple hours into your drive to stretch. In my 812 GTS, I kept the standard seats which are way more comfortable on longer drives but since we were going to participate in owner's lapping we though it was better to take the track car and enjoy it. I've always felt that if you can get the GTS/spider versions for any of the models that's the way to go, you have the best of all weather conditions. To me, the SF90 felt way faster at any rpm, with the 296 you had to be above 4K RPM to feel the torque in any gear. After you hit 5K RPM, it was alot of fun almost like driving a go cart type of fun.
Rosso Imola is a normal 2 layer metallic. It is £5,920 in the UK before tax so that is roughly $7,180 USD.
Rosso Imola is the "Special Color" (option code PNTN), AKA the launch color. The cost is $12,487 in the US.
I don't mind having to work to keep my seats clean, but how badly does Crema stain? Is it easy to clean off, or does it really start looking like an unmitigated disaster after a while? Our Teslas have white interiors and even our two little tornadoes (4 and 6 yo boys) can't put a single permanent mark on them. I totally expect that natural leather will be more susceptible to wear, although don't wanna get into a total dumpster fire of a maintenance situation...
Ferraris leathers are treated and as long as you use a little care you should be fine. I had Sabbia (very close to Crema) seats in a car with zero issues.
Comparisons to Tesla in Ferrari 296 review is mandatory loss of man card, allocation(s) of any special cars, and loss of Casa Ferrari access.
Hahahaha! Fair enough. For fear of losing other privileges, I'll be sure NOT to mention how much more brutal the acceleration is in the Plaid vs 296... Would I get in even more trouble, or less, for saying that the 296 is my favorite EV so far?
to my Tesla friends I have given up on argument and merely note that it is not what I define as a “car.” It’s good for the appliance it is, but it is not a car to me.
Totally legit for you to have that perspective. My perspective is quite different: I feel they're very much "cars" and are quite thrilling in their own right. Having come from a background as a manual shifter loving, race car driving, wrench-on-my-own-hardware petrolhead, I feel quite fortunate that I've ended up finding and relating to the soul of EVs as well, as it makes my world a little more rich. I'm sure you get a lot of enjoyment out of your cars too, though, so no big loss. Enjoy 'em in good health!
