First thoughts after delivery…

So I finally took delivery of my 296 GTB. It arrived on the 1st March but it has been parked in my garage all week as I have been so busy at work.

Finally took her out for a spin last night in London. I have driven the 296 before on track and I was so amazed that I ordered it.

Well the car lives up to its hype. It’s simply amazing to drive. The gearbox is quick, super smooth changes, a lovely fruity exhaust note and super crazy power delivery.

I think the car looks poor in comparison to an F8/488 which is a more chiseled, more powerful, masculine look. The 296 looks are very soft in comparison and a bit of a bugbear for me.

Bad points. The steering wheel is so thin, not nice to hold as a result. The horn has moved off the rim to the airbag. I preferred it on the wheel rim. The infotainment, although I find it very good, is very slow to respond. We have also lost some functionality. You no longer get pictures of the engine/brake discs/tyres in blue and then green for GO. You still get warmup, but that’s it. Ferrari do not let you spec a full colour interior with A pillars and roof lining (unlike previous models). They also do not allow the airbag and steering column cowling to be colour coded, which only the rim. The AC controls can be fiddly through the menus, but the quick AC controller pad is useful once you get the hang of it. The HUD is from a 1990s car! Very basic in resolutions/colour/clarity and a lack of information.

Overall the car is amazing. It’s nice to shift into ED, save fuel whilst stuck in traffic. There is no mpg meter so who knows what the consumption is (quite frankly, who cares). The apple car play etc is a nice touch, but fiddly to use. The JBL sound system is half way decent finally, the 360 camera although good is very poor on clarity and is probably 5/6 years behind the competition.

I found that at night, with the big haunches of the rear pillars, it’s hard to see if someone is in your left blind spot when changing lanes ( there is also a lot of reflection, which can be mistaken for a car coming down the side of you).

The carbon seats XL are more comfortable that I thought. I did still get a leg ache on the right foot as you cannot tilt the seat to a perfect angle unlike the fully electric seats.

The car is very firm and planted, you can reach insane speed very quickly.

All in all very happy and I would definitely recommend the car to any Ferrari owner moving up from 458/488/F8.

Worldwide production is completely sold out for all GTBs and GTSs, so anyone who wants to spec and build their own car will be out of luck. You will have to purchase a prebuilt car under someone else’s spec.

Either way if you have the opportunity to buy one, you will not be disappointed!

The engineers at Ferrari have done a simply stunning job with the car.

 

Hi Blue2th!

Definitely spec the JBL. It’s a must if you like your music. Ferrari standard speakers are very poor.

The bump for the speakers does not bother me at all. I like the look of the cameras in the mirrors also. Worth specifying IMHO.

I went Rosso corsa with crema interior and Rosso carpets, Rosso stitch, Rosso cavalinhos, red seat belts.

I wish I had trusted my gut instinct and spec’d the Alcantara carpets with crema leather which gives you the central tunnel and back of seats bulkhead in leather. I should have gone with electric seats and full seat back matching leather.

Not sure yellow stitching matches. You could try white stitching ? Or crema stitching ? Are you going for carbon or comfort seats ?

I have a GTS coming, so I will use the above spec on thar car.

I would also recommend Rosso scuderia. I last had it 15 years ago on an F430. I think it really pops. Share your renders of the interiors you are thinking of.

PS: make sure you get matching seat belts and cavalinhos to your chosen stitch colour. Just my opinion!

 

Oh you can also choose an offset colour on the dash and tops of door cards / back of bulkhead £4800 option, you can try and also match with a leather headliner in matching colour ( colour has to be approved the factory upon request first ).

 

I think it’s a very personal and a subjective opinion on the steering wheel. It’s down to personal taste. I had a MOMO steering wheel on a 1992 MK2 Golf GTI 25 years ago. The 296 wheel reminds me of that. I personally like a thicker wheel, like the F8 etc.

Horses for courses…

 

Will take some pics on the weekend and post.
Correct. I think I will go for electric next time so I can get heated seats.

 

I agree the looks are really poor. The F8 looks stunning in comparison.
The problem is the 296 is far far superior from a driving point of view.