Track Tested: Ferrari 296 GTB – ‘Baby’ SF90 Driven Around SIC!

The privilege to sample a thoroughbred Italian supercar doesn’t come about often for us at CariCarz.com – even for a seasoned motoring journalist such as this writer. Nevertheless, when the gracious folks over at Ferrari Malaysia (Naza Italia) rang us up offering just that, it was an invitation we couldn’t turn down.

Essentially, that’s how we found ourselves attending a trackday event specially tailored by Ferrari for both customers and select press members held at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) recently. The star of this show was, of course, Ferrari’s newest ‘baby’, by which we mean the 296 GTB.

In all aspects, the 296 GTB – as well as its topless twin the 296 GTS – is a proper thoroughbred Ferrari, and that’s despite the fact that it bore plenty of the fabled prancing horse marque’s new-age electrification underneath – it’s a plug-in hybrid or PHEV, and only Ferrari’s second after the SF90 slotted above.

Much of the aforementioned SF90’s hybrid performance tech comes straight out of the fabled marque’s storied Formula 1 racing endeavour, and this is replicated in the 296 GTB, albeit at a smaller scale – no all-wheel-drive (AWD) or V8 heart in this ‘baby’.

Nevertheless, judging from the efforts of Ferrari’s product specialists and driving instructors explaining at length as to how it all works during a detailed, hour-long briefing before our track driving stint, the marque remains serious with this ‘baby’ offering’s performance.

We’re using the term ‘baby’ often here simply for the fact that the 296 GTB is indeed small and compact as far as supercars go. Don’t let the larger-than-life stance in the images featured here fool you. Depending on your size and bulk, life inside the 296 GTB’s cabin could feel either snug or cramped.

Nevertheless, at just a little past noon and under the watchful eyes of a certified instructor seated on our right in the left-hand-drive tester given to us, we set out to complete the five laps we were granted with.

Initially, things felt undramatic as we pulled out of the garage and into pitlane, all under the silence of electric drive. This whisper-quiet affair stems from the 296 GTB’s trick dual electric motors setup, which delivers 165 HP (or 123 kW, if you prefer wattage) and 315 NM, juiced by a 7.45 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

3.0-litre twin-turbo 120-degree V6 works with two electric motors, granting 819 HP and 740 NM combined.

Note: Ferrari 296 GTS with optional Assetto Fiorano package pictured above.

At full charge, this electrified side of the 296 GTB offers up to 25 KM of all-electric drive, which is handy if you’re the type not wanting to wake your neighbours up whenever you set off at night, or ungodly hours. Despite the absent theatrics, the whole affair felt rather smooth and sublime and, dare we say it, very un-Ferrari-like.

Upon reaching the pitlane exit line though, we floored the throttle and, aptly, things started to take on a different direction. At this point, the 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged, 120-degree V6 roared to life, bringing another 654 HP into the mix. Combined, there’s 819 HP and 740 NM available now, all at the mercy of our right foot.

The brief 100-metre or so burst through the stretch spanning the pitlane exit and into SIC’s Turn 1 was enough to thrust both us and our instructor into the snug, racy and plush leather bucket seats. Surely, Ferrari’s claims of the 296 GTB at despatching 0-100 KMH in just 2.9 seconds stand undoubted thanks to this opening ‘preview’.

Praise-worthy here is how seamless the 296 GTB felt when transitioning from electric to petrol, as well as the delivery of both combined later on. The same applies to just how perfectly balanced the 296 GTB felt, which inspired plenty of confidence for us to traverse through SIC’s renowned tight and technical sequences.

Besides the rapid speed and pace, what will boggle the minds of the uninitiated is the sheer amount of controllability the 296 GTB offers behind the wheel. Much of this is the result of the wind tunnel-tested aerodynamics and subsequently high grip levels present, which allowed us tackle SIC’s fast yet tricky Turns 7 and 8 sequence at high speeds, and with relative ease too once we got on the right line.

Like any thoroughbred Ferrari sportscar, 296 GTB’s ability at halting itself on a dime is yet another performance trait to marvel in. This sensational act comes courtesy of the optional carbon ceramic brakes our tester was primed with. Once up to temperature, rapid deceleration for corner entries, like when entering SIC’s notoriously technical Turns 9 and 15, became less daunting to say the least.

At this point, what really shined too were the trick electronic driver assistance this 296 GTB is endowed with. Again, much of this stems from Ferrari’s Formula 1 engineering efforts. There’s indeed a lot to mention here, but we’ll be brief and report all of them worked well, and these helped in keeping both us and the 296 GTB in check at all times.

Upon soaking up everything we needed in our outlap, the three full-laps that ensued after could only be best described as an adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride. The biggest kick came from knowing that we were in full control of it all, and this was an affair that only got sweeter with the soundtrack sung by the blown petrol-electric mill mentioned sitting just behind the cabin.

Alas, all good things must come to an end at some point, and it did for us as we completed our fourth pass of SIC’s start-finish line down the main straight. Like clockwork, this was the precise moment that our instructor duly told us to ease off into a cool-down lap before pulling into the pits and retiring.

At the end of our driving stint, it suddenly became easy to grasp why supercars like the Ferrari 296 GTB exist, and why brands like Ferrari still invest in the effort to develop such things, all in the name of sating this need for speed put forth by its legion of loyal clients with bank accounts to match.

If anything, keen prospects sizing this ‘baby’ offering up can take our word: You won’t be disappointed.

Above all, this performance recipe of using both petrol and electric is something Ferrari has gotten to grips with very well indeed. This will thrill anyone with the means properly before the storied marque decides to go full-electric. Until then, as far as track-ready performances go, this recipe has gotten our nod.

The only question left now is how all this feels on the streets…

SPECIFICATIONS

Images courtesy of Ferrari Malaysia (Naza Italia) and Ferrari APAC.