A Ferrari with a V6 engine, it's a plug-in hybrid and isn't even built around a carbon fiber bath. Remember it was a company that launched a completely different brand the last time they put a V6 in a production car instead of calling it Ferrari. So if ever there was a Ferrari that had everything to prove, it had to be the 296 GTS. So we got on a plane and flew to Dubai to find out if Ferrari's new GT coupe is a prancing horse on the hood.
foothills. On the way home, I wrote down my thoughts on the design of the 296 GTS. And I found my mind returning to the foothills and the pedagogy of nomenclature. "But the foothills of GTB!" and "A GTS is considered a Targa". Pardon my French but, damn nerds! Well, the supporting pillars of its sheet metal siblings are gone and in its place is a folding hardtop. And yes, Magnum PI's 308 GTS is a Targa. Perhaps Maranello didn't care about the Tifosi nerds and their harsh truths. The two 296s were developed and designed concurrently and are recognized as siblings.
But in its own right and without the struts, the GTS is truly a magnificent spider with its broad shoulders and slim profile 296. What stands out immediately is the incredible assembly of the roof mechanism. The vehicle is fully extended. Really, you could spend a few hours watching the hood pop out and back on the GTS. It's beautiful coordination and mechanics in motion, and as Italians say, it's all about feel. We have calculated the time to the top to be 15 seconds and it can be done on the go at speeds up to 45 km/h.
The blue paint job you see on the GTS is a tribute to the 250 LM and is exclusive to the Assetto Fiorano package available on both 296s. In a nutshell, that means all possible universal springs. tuned in carbon fiber and derived from the GT racetrack. Carbon fiber subsections on the bumper, carbon fiber on the interior and dashboard. Our test car even had an optional carbon fiber bucket seat that looked nice but wasn't very comfortable.
Overall, though, the Assetto Fiorano package is about 8kg less than the stock 296 GTS, which makes a lot of sense when you realize that means the 800bhp sunroof now weighs almost 1,500kg. The heavy use of carbon fiber ensures that while the interior is kept to a minimum, the 296 GTS cabin remains pioneering and exclusive. Instruments are also your home screen, and there isn't much to an infotainment system other than a slim screen on the passenger side that allows for some navigation and media functions.
To protect Ferrari, you paid for one of the most technologically advanced V6s in the world, specifically designed to look like a V12. Do you really want to listen to Drake? However, the minimalism on the Alcantara dashboard led to one thing I didn't like in the 296s and that was the capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel, which were awkward to use and the feeling of starting up my Ferrari. you from the touch sensor on the steering wheel. the wheel seems almost sacrilegious in a way, but with the GTS it's just one of those nasty things you'll have to put up with, but in my opinion, it's the only one.
