Novitec 296 N-Largo is an attention-getter
Ferrari's super-hybrid is hardly a shrinking violet. But just in case...
The last time we talked about N-Largo - essentially Novitec going above and beyond with its expectation setting - it was the limited-to-just-three 812 N-Largo S revealed this time last year, a car that answered the question ‘how loud is too loud’ in about 14 different ways. Well, the new Ferrari 296 N-Largo is loud, too - both to look at and to listen to. Obviously not as loud as the 812 (which one PHer, having reportedly heard it in person, suggested was off the bearable scale) but certainly you’d hear it coming past with the uprated twin-turbo V6 exhausting its gases through two bespoke, 102mm tailpipes. Although probably you’ll see it coming first.
That’s because, in inimitable N-Largo style, the overhauled 296 adds 6cm to the width of the front and 12cm to the rear thanks to its Vittorio Strosek-designed bodykit. Needless to say, the additional parts are all in carbon composite and include a reworked diffuser and fixed rear wing (though you can have a Novitec ducktail spoiler if you prefer). Alongside those colossal rear quarter panels, new springs lower the standard height by 35mm onto a range of improbably large alloys, though Novitec likely expects you to go with the NF11 NL forged wheels that were custom-developed by Vossen. At the rear, these require 335/25 ZR 22 tyres. And 255/30 ZR 21s at the front.
To get these monsters to turn, Novitec has lightly breathed on the already hugely powerful hybrid powertrain with the introduction of high-flow turbo inlets and 100-cell metal catalysts to achieve a combined 868hp when the new exhaust is factored in. Granted, 38hp is not a huge increase over the standard output - but let’s not forget the 296 is already a sub-3-second to 62mph supercar. It’s unlikely you’ll want for speed, and the tuner suggests that downforce and stability (no kidding) have been improved by its attention.
Quite how much you’ll want to take advantage of these larger-still limits is an open-ended question, especially when you consider that Novitec has limited production of the 296 N-Largo to just 15 examples. The firm doesn’t like to talk about money, but, as ever, you can add six figures to the six-figure sum Ferrari already charges for a standard model. A high price to standout from what is already a seldom-seen supercar, that’s for sure. But short of paying seven figures for a truly zany restomod, there’s not much else out there that scratches the N-Largo itch. Unless you’re happy to buy secondhand, obviously…
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