Here’s What Makes the New Ferrari 296 Speciale So Special

3 min

May 9, 2025 | Autoweek

Here’s What Makes the New Ferrari 296 Speciale So Special

3 min

Nearly every component and system on the car is cranked up.

Autoweek

May 9, 2025

Originally published by Autoweek.

Ferrari took the 296 and cranked it up to 296 Speciale, with 868 hp, 50 more than the 296 GTB, and a record for a rear-wheel-drive production Ferrari.
Aerodynamic improvements combine to generate 957 pounds of downforce at 155 mph, 20% more than the original 296.
All of them are already sold to existing Ferrari customers, who are likely to have the estimated half-a-million-dollar price tag.

For any other manufacturer, big changes to a car model three years after it goes on sale would be called a mid-cycle facelift. But the Ferrari 296 is not just any car and this is no mid-cycle facelift. Though the face is lifted.

Almost every component of the 296 GTB and GTS was reworked for performance, from the turbo to the cooling and back again.

The new model is called the 296 Speciale in the case of the coupe and the 296 Speciale A for the convertible, wherein A stands for Aperta, or open.

Let’s have a look.

The Powertrain

For the car’s 3.0-liter, 120-degree, twin-turbo, dry sump V6, Ferrari used some of the engine management maps and boost strategy from the 296 Challenge race car in the Speciale, as well as titanium con rods, reinforced pistons, and a lighter crankshaft. It borrowed from the knock control system of its F1 car, too.

And it’s a hybrid, remember, so the powertrain’s electric motor, situated inside the transmission housing between the engine and the eight-speed DCT transmission, gets optimized operating and cooling strategies that result in a 178-hp output in the car’s new “extra boost mode” which kicks in between 6,000 and 8,500 rpm and in “Qualify” mode.

Total system power is 869 hp, 50 more than the 296 GTB, and a record for a rear-wheel-drive production Ferrari, the company says. Peak torque is 557 lb-ft.

The eight-speed DCT gets a new upshift management profile for all gears from 1st to 7th with shorter shift times thanks to synchronizing the electric motor with the gearbox to compensate for the dip in acceleration during shifts, Ferrari says.

The engine sound has even been recalibrated and “accentuated to offer an even more thrilling driving experience.”

Aerodynamics

The Speciale’s body borrows vertical fins and small wings from the FXX K, as well as the vertical external profile of the 296 Challenge, along with side wings on the tail and an optimized undertray.

Two pairs of louvres on the hood reduce pressure in the wheel housing and improve both drag and downforce. All combine to generate 957 pounds of downforce at 155 mph, 20% more than the original 296.

Furthermore, the 296 Speciale has a retractable spoiler which completes the aerodynamic profile of the tail of the car. The control strategy is capable of setting the wing into a number of different positions as needed for either downforce or drag reduction.

The body generates 957 pounds of downforce at 155 mph.

Thermal Management

Making all that power means you have to get rid of a lot more heat, but space constraints meant there was no room to move any radiators around nor to make the radiators themselves any bigger.

So engineers increased the cross section of the front radiator ducts by 12%, which worked perfectly with the new bumpers to maximize flow into the nose.

The hot air vents in the underbody feature a new, optimized configuration, which contributes to cleaning up the air flow along the underbody itself, Ferrari says.

Ferrari used titanium and carbon fiber throughout to lower weight by 132 pounds.

The central aperture in the front undertray of the 296 GTB has been eliminated, while the lateral louvres have been relocated further to the sides to take advantage of, and interact with, the three slots in the splitter.

At the speeds you can find in the new car, the brakes need better cooling, so engineers increased air flow to the sliver of space between the discs and the pads by increasing the size of the cross section of the inlet duct integrated in the headlamp, while an additional duct, inspired by the F80, collects air from the undertray and channels it directly to the caliper.

Handling

Lighter cars handle better, so Ferrari used titanium and carbon fiber throughout to lower weight by 132 pounds.

For better braking, the ABS Evo controller uses data from the car’s 6D sensor to more precisely measure tire slip at each wheel and allow better control of both brakes and tires.

The suspension setup of the 296 Speciale features specifically calibrated spring stiffness settings and linkage geometries to optimize the car’s behavior.

Combined with its lower mass and lower center of gravity, the 296 Speciale is capable of 4% higher lateral acceleration than the 296 GTB, Ferrari says. The maximum roll angle is now 13% lower, too.

The Speciale is equipped with Multimatic single-rate shocks from the 296 GT3, and titanium springs to minimize overall weight, Ferrari says.

It all rides on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tires developed specifically for this application. Their design benefitted from engineers’ experience with the F80, Ferrari added.

Speciale has 4% more lateral grip.

Interior

Door panels and door handles were redesigned for weight savings. The central tunnel is all carbon fiber. The seats appear to be carryover from the 296 and, having driven that car, I can say they are pretty much race-ready and lightweight as they are. No comfy bench seats here.

What’s It All Mean?

All this, and it’s not meant to be driven exclusively on the track, believe it or not.

“It is designed to have incredible performance on track, of course, but also to be used on normal roads,” Ferrari product development chief Gianmaria Fulgenzi said at the car’s introduction. “It has a balance of performance. It’s not extreme. It’s a car that’s meant to be used, a car that won’t destroy your neck or your back.”

I think I’d like to try it out on both (road and track, not neck and back). But with the US price expected to be about a half-million bucks—$130,000 more than the “base” 296—and with all cars already spoken for, that might not happen.

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