Ferrari 296 GTB First Drive Review

It is too fast, low, loud, and simply too ridiculous to be driven in Mumbai traffic in the middle of the day. And yet here I am, getting acquainted with a Ferrari 296 GTB that I just picked up for a fleeting afternoon drive. It costs 75 times more than the hatchback that I drive every day but somehow I did not lose my grip on reality. Right, then.

Here’s what I experienced after lowering myself into the driver’s seat and driving the 296 GTB (quite gingerly for the most part) across the South end of Mumbai.

What makes the 296 GTB special is the fact that it’s a plug-in hybrid; it’s the first-ever Ferrari to come with a turbocharged V6 engine along with an electric motor. The end result is an output of 830bhp and a deeply visceral experience about as over-the-top as the last couple of movies from Shah Rukh Khan.

The 296 GTB is stunning to look at; but then which Ferrari isn’t?

This particular car is finished in a nice shade of blue. It appears black in the dark and I think that gives it a nice sinister look. To some, it’s virtually blasphemous that it’s not red but I love it. There is this sense of harmony to its curvaceous bodywork and dare I say, the 296 GTB looks almost understated next to a Lamborghini Huracan EVO or a McLaren 720S but it still gets all the smiles and gestural approval from the world around you, if you find yourself in stop-and-go traffic like I did.

The 296 GTB is Ferrari’s entry-level supercar but there is nothing entry-level about the way it looks. It is exquisite, to say the least. That goes for the cabin, too, which has been put together using a lot of expensive leather, carbon fibre, and Alcantara. It isn’t perfect, though.

For a mere mortal like me, there is too much going on with the driver’s display, which is actually the hub for navigation, multimedia functions, and the rest of the car’s settings. The only way you can navigate through the menus and submenus is via touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel and that too requires getting used to.

Whether it's standing still or on the move, the 296 GTB is pure theatre. But, there is a caveat. After all, we are living in a brave, new world wherein supercars are trying to be polar bear-friendly with their hybrid powertrain. The 296 GTB has an electric motor between the engine and the gearbox and a battery pack that’s big enough to give it a full-electric driving range of 25km.

The startup process is sedate, by Ferrari standards, because the 296 GTB doesn’t immediately fire up its turbo V6 when you thumb the starter button. Instead, it uses the electric motor to propel the car ahead if you are in eDrive mode. Straightaway not wanting to be at the receiving end of the engine’s wrath, I kept the 296 GTB in eDrive mode until we got closer to the wide open road leading to Bandra Reclamation. At this point, I can say that this is indisputably the fastest car I have ever driven. Normal speeds seem like walking pace and once switched to Performance drive mode, each and every tap on the throttle would have you lunging ahead unrelentingly.

I know it’s an utterly overused cliché in the automotive world but the gearshifts through the metal paddles are actually lightning-quick, and it’s on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link wherein I could finally listen to this V6 engine’s full vocal range. It revs all the way to 8,500rpm at which point it is gloriously loud inside the cabin and you are all tingly and beaming. But at the same time, it’s all fairly civilised; the ride quality isn’t too jarring, and it isn’t very difficult to look out of either, despite sitting so low that your bottom is virtually touching the ground.

Give it enough open space and the 296 GTB has the ability to rearrange your internal organs. I couldn’t go full throttle at any point during the drive but even then, the way it accelerates and reels in the horizon when you boot it, it’s a pleasant assault to your senses. Some might argue that putting so much power and torque through the rear wheels isn’t ideal for our usually dusty and uneven roads. It is a bit much, yes. But it is also unhinged and that’s a lot of fun, if you ask me.

It may not have the pure saccharinity of a naturally aspirated V8 Ferrari but the 296 GTB is as Italian as it comes. It’s gorgeous to look at, sounds glorious when you boot it, and most remarkably, is surprisingly easy to drive. The plug-in hybrid system only adds to the appeal of this remarkable model. Basically, the 296 GTB is everything you would want in a thinking man’s supercar.

Pictures by Kaustubh Gandhi