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2023 Ferrari 296 GTS: The First Look
Every time a new Ferrari sports car is released, you can be sure that a topless version is not long following.
The mega-hot 296 GTB, a mid-engine plug-in hybrid plaything laden with Ferrari firsts that debuted last year, is being joined by the 296 GTS, a stripped-down version of the same fundamental PHEV. The convertible body design is responsible for the name change: Ferrari calls it the “Gran Turismo Spider.”
Instead of a fixed roof like the GTB, the GTS has a retractable hard top that can be stowed behind the cabin in 14 seconds and deployed in the same amount of time when showers start falling—or your sun tolerance runs out.
The roof’s transformer action can occur at speeds of up to 28 mph, causing the panel above the occupants to split in half before stacking in front of the engine.
According to Ferrari, this ensures that the engine’s “thermal dissipation characteristics” and the car’s overall appearance remain constant.
Ferrari incorporates a clever vertical window between the cabin and the back deck that you can raise and lower with the top down to compensate for the extra cut lines across the 296’s lid.
Leave it up for less wind inside, or down for more noise from the 2.9-liter V-6 engine, which sounds almost like a V-12 thanks to its wide 120-degree cylinder bank angle and symmetrical firing order.
The “hot tube” sound ducting that pipes noise from the exhaust (pre-catalytic converter) directly into the cabin has been revised to keep its song going whether the top is up or down, and Ferrari even kept the horizontal decklid window that allows onlookers, truckers, or nearby SUV drivers to peer down into the engine bay from above, though the portal is smaller due to the movable panels that allow the roof to stow.
The rest of the 296 package is perfectly acceptable for GTS duty: The plug-in hybrid powertrain, which includes a V-6 engine with 654 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque, an electric motor with 165 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque, and a 7.5-kWh battery, delivers 818 horsepower to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. (Combined torque is “only” 546 lb-ft, the engine’s maximum, due to the hybrid system’s power distribution—but based on our experience with the GTB, this isn’t an issue.)
The PHEV configuration can rely on its EV motor alone for journeys up to 15 miles on a full charge at speeds up to 84 mph, in addition to making seductive noises and punting the 296 around.
Ferrari offers the same drive modes to GTS buyers as it does to GTB owners: eDrive (EV mode), Hybrid (engine can turn off for short times), Performance (engine stays on), and Qualify (engine stays on) (maximum performance, less battery charging).
Similarly, the Side Slip Control (eSSC) system may manage front and rear grip, allowing drivers to engage in some wacky behavior while the stability control system actively prevents things from going wrong.
