New ferrari 296 GTB

[The Surveyor]

bordseye said:

Yes. Same with McLaren. Same with Pork and the 4 cylinder. All about emissions and fuel consumption - a V6 has less pumping losses than a V8. Add in the Dyson bit and before you know it you have a Ferrari below 100mg and Ok in the various low emission zones world wide. Its the way the wind is blowing.

It's also about weight and packaging. To avoid these new hybrid supercars getting as lardy as your typical Tesla or being as compromised as the 3 cylinder Mini engined BMW i8, dropping down from a turbo V8 to a equally powerful turbo V6 with battery pack makes a lot of sense.

For me it's quite an exciting change in direction. For years we have seen the 'arms race' of every-more powerful supercars and now we are seeing a little more thought being needed to work with (or around) the new emissions targets. I've not seen much of the 296 but if it picks up on the technology coming in the McLaren Autura, it'll be an exciting new chapter. Clever design ideas like the electric powered reverse leaving the forward-gear only gearbox to be a fraction of the size and weight is genius.

Like the P1 and Laferrari before them, I'm excited to see how this new technology can be used to create a new breed of exceptional supercars.

[sparta6]

Was with a 296 on Friday.
Sounds pretty lame in the flesh.

[MarkM3Evoplus]

I think it looks nicer than the v8's, well in pics anyway

[Fezzamania]

sparta6 said:

Was with a 296 on Friday.
Sounds pretty lame in the flesh.

Thats disappointingv

[cgt2]

Didn't hear it but looks great in the flesh, elements of 250LM. Far curvier than pictures convey.

[willy wombat]

Seeing it (and hopefully hearing it) on Saturday. Will report back!

[bordseye]

The Surveyor said:

It's also about weight and packaging. To avoid these new hybrid supercars getting as lardy as your typical Tesla or being as compromised as the 3 cylinder Mini engined BMW i8, dropping down from a turbo V8 to a equally powerful turbo V6 with battery pack makes a lot of sense.

For me it's quite an exciting change in direction. For years we have seen the 'arms race' of every-more powerful supercars and now we are seeing a little more thought being needed to work with (or around) the new emissions targets. I've not seen much of the 296 but if it picks up on the technology coming in the McLaren Autura, it'll be an exciting new chapter. Clever design ideas like the electric powered reverse leaving the forward-gear only gearbox to be a fraction of the size and weight is genius.

Like the P1 and Laferrari before them, I'm excited to see how this new technology can be used to create a new breed of exceptional supercars.

In recent vehicle design there has been a tendency for engineers to do things " because they can" rather than because they are necessary or functional. The result is that we have ended up with cars that are too heavy and with way more power than can ever be used or enjoyed. IMO you buy a sports car for fun on public roads and not as an exercise in willie waving or wallet waving, so where does 800 bhp and 220 mph top speed come in? Even Lotus are falling into this trap as the latest "new" model illustrates.

So unlike yourself, I am not at all excited about this new technology. The P1 and la Ferrari are irrelevances. And incidentally, using electric power to substitute for a reverse is a well established idea and not at all new.

[willy wombat]

Well I’ve seen it now and I think it’s stunning. The car doing the rounds is in a grey and yellow scheme with the full £25k racing pack or whatever it’s called. Mrs Wombat thought it looked better in the red used for the PR shots. What bemused me is that when you lift the bonnet the engine looks so tiny compared to my normal view of a 458 engine. The car was started and given a few revs and sounded fine but that’s not the same as hearing it go past at full chat so can’t give a definitive answer re noise. Overall though, like it or not it’s the future and a lot better (to me) than full electric.