2<\/sub> regulations that govern carmakers, there are no exemptions for building in low volumes.<\/p>\nThat means if you build supercars\u2014like, say, Ferrari\u2014and you want to sell your supercars to people who live in the center of cities (which supercar owners often do), it’s time to get electrified. That’s something Ferrari has been working on for some time, first in Formula 1 and then in its ultra-expensive, ultra-low-volume models like the LaFerrari and SF90. But now, that tech has trickled down to the manufacturer’s bread-and-butter model, a mid-engined machine called the 296. During the spring, Ferrari debuted the hardtop 296 GTB. More recently, it took the wraps off the folding-top 296 GTS, tested here.<\/p>\n
Visually, it’s easy to place this as a mid-engined Ferrari, and were you to line up a 296 alongside an F8, 488, and 458, the evolution of the shape would be obvious. Then again, there are only so many places you can put a mid-engined car’s engine and radiators, and where those go dictates where you need ducts, vents, and so on. However, break out a tape measure and you’ll discover the wheelbase has shrunk by a couple of inches (50 mm).<\/p>\n
The visual similarities are skin-deep, as the heart of the 296 really is entirely new. And for the first time, Ferrari has fitted a V6 to one of its road cars, giving the car its name\u20142.9 L and six cylinders. (Pedants will note that the 206 GT, 246 GT, and 246 GTS built in the 1960s and 1970s only ever wore Dino badges, never the prancing horse.)<\/p>\n