- Unveiled today the 296 GTS, Ferrari’s new mid-rear-engined berlinetta spider
- The 296 GTS sports the 830 cv Ferrari V6 hybrid powertrain that debuted in the 296 GTB
- Its plug-in hybrid system maximises usability and driving pleasure
- Thanks to Ferrari’s famous RHT, the 296 GTS adds an extra dimension to the thrill of driving
- The 296 GTS is also available with the more extreme Assetto Fiorano package
The 296 GTS, the latest evolution of Maranello’s mid-rear-engined two-seater berlinetta spider, premiered today online on www.ferrari.com/auto_xxxxx. The 296 GTS flanks the 296 GTB in redefining the whole concept of fun behind the wheel, guaranteeing pure emotions not just when pushing the car to its limits, but also in day-to-day driving situations.
The 296 GTS uses the new 663 cv 120° V6, coupled with an electric motor capable of delivering a further 122 kW (167cv), which debuted on the 296 GTB. This is the first 6-cylinder engine installed on a road-going spider sporting the Prancing Horse badge; it unleashes its class-leading 830 cv total power output to deliver previously unthinkable performance levels and an innovative, exhilarating and unique soundtrack, further enhanced by the fact that it can be relished with the top down.
The car’s name combines its total displacement (2992 l) and number of cylinders with the GTS (Gran Turismo Spider) acronym in finest Ferrari tradition, to underscore this new engine’s epoch-changing importance to Maranello. It is not simply the living, beating heart of the 296 GTS, but it also ushers in a new V6 era that has its roots deep in Ferrari’s unrivalled 75-year history.
The very first Ferrari V6 featured a 65° architecture and debuted on the 1957 1500 cc Dino 156 F2 single-seater. This was followed in 1958 by larger displacement versions on the front-engined sports prototypes – the 196 S and 296 S – and the 246 F1 car which powered Mike Hawthorn to the F1 Drivers’ Championship title the same year.
The 296 GTS’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) system guarantees it is an incredibly usable car as well as cutting pedal response times to zero and delivering a 25km range in all-electric eDrive mode. The car’s compact dimensions and the introduction of innovative dynamic control systems as well as meticulously honed aero ensure that the driver will instantly be impressed by its astonishing agility and responsiveness to commands. Its sporty, sinuous design and extremely compact dimensions also visually underscore its unique and modern forms, while skilfully referencing the likes of the 1963 250 LM, the perfect marriage of simplicity and functionality.
The RHT (retractable hard top) guarantees exceptional occupant comfort. With the roof stowed it features a sleek, sporty design and with the roof up, the silhouette remains very similar to that of the 296 GTB. The lightweight RHT takes a mere 14 seconds to retract or deploy at speeds of up to 45km/h. The separation line between the car’s body and the roof is above the B post. As a result, the folding roof splits into two sections that fold flush over the front of the engine, thus maintaining the engine bay’s thermal dissipation characteristics and the balance of the overall design. This also allowed the designers to introduce a window in the rear section of the engine cover through which the new V6 is clearly visible. When the top is retracted, the cabin and the rear deck are separated by a height-adjustable glass rear screen which guarantees optimal passenger comfort even at high speeds.
As was the case with the SF90 Stradale, for clients who want to exploit the car’s extreme power and performance to the utmost, particularly on the track, the 296 GTS is also available with the Assetto Fiorano package, which includes lightweight features and aero modifications.
POWERTRAIN
The 296 GTS is the first Ferrari road-going spider to sport a V6 turbo with a vee with an angle of 120° between the cylinder banks, coupled with a plug-in electric motor. Presented for the first time in 2021 on the 296 GTB, the V6 has its turbos installed inside the vee. Aside from bringing significant advantages in terms of packaging, lowering the centre of gravity and reducing engine mass, this particular architecture helps deliver extremely high levels of power. The result is that the Ferrari V6 set a new specific power output record for a production car of 221 cv/l.
As the V6 turbo is integrated with an electric motor at the rear, the 296 GTS’s combined maximum power output is 830 cv, putting it at the top of the rear-wheel-drive spider segment. The hybrid element not only makes the car extremely versatile in terms of day-to-day driving with a full-electric mode range of 25 km, but also benefits the driving experience by providing instant and consistent response at all engine speeds.
The powertrain assembly comprises the turbo-charged V6 that feeds power to the rear wheels via the 8-speed DCT and E-Diff, and the MGU-K located between the engine and the gearbox. A clutch is set between the ICE and the electric motor to decouple them in electric-only eDrive mode. Lastly, there is a high-voltage battery and an inverter which powers the electric motor.
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
Thanks to its 663 cv and 221 cv/l, the 296 GTS’s ICE sets the new specific power output record for a series-production road-going spider. Central to achieving this result was the introduction of the 120° vee configuration with equally-spaced firings as well as the positioning of the turbos inside the vee, which produces a much more compact engine and optimally distributed masses.
The architecture provides the ideal combustion, but was also perfected in terms of component integration: in fact both the intake plenums and the engine supports are integrated on the intake sides of the cylinder heads. The engine is thus lighter and more compact because of the elimination of the plenums and additional supports, while the internal fluid-dynamics benefit from the reduction in volume, boosting intake efficiency. The 120° vee architecture, which offers more space between the cylinder banks than a 90° vee, meant the turbos could be installed centrally, thus significantly reducing the unit’s overall size and the distance the air has to cover to arrive in the combustion chamber, maximising the fluid dynamics and efficiency of the intake and exhaust line ducts.
To obtain this specific power output, the pressure in the combustion chamber had to be pushed to new heights. Boosting the pressure in the chamber demanded exceptional development from both a thermal-fluid-dynamic and structural point of view without compromising on engine weight and reliability. To that end, Ferrari poured all of its significant expertise in alloys, dimensioning and components into engineering the aluminium engine block and cylinder heads. Both components were designed specifically for the V6 architecture.
A timing chain takes drive from the crankshaft to the pump assembly (water and oil) and the valvetrain is commanded by an offset sprocket and a dedicated timing chain per cylinder bank. The main chain has a dedicated hydraulic tensioner, two bush chains with relative hydraulic tensioner and different calibrations for right and left bank, as well as a dedicated chain for the oil pump assembly. The valvetrain, which has roller fingers with hydraulic tappets, has specific intake and exhaust valve profiles.
The engine benefited from the latest Ferrari combustion chamber developments: central injector and spark plugs with 350-bar pressure injection system improve the fuel-air mix in the chamber, performance and reduce emissions. The intake and exhaust ducts were redesigned and tuned to maximise volumetric efficiency and thus guarantee high levels of turbulence in the chamber.
With the introduction of the V6 the IHI turbochargers have been completely redesigned using higher performance alloys. This meant the maximum revs of the turbos could be increased to 180,000 rpm, with a consequent improvement in performance and boost efficiency, which increases by 24%. The symmetrical, counter-rotating turbos are of the mono-scroll type: the technical solutions adopted have reduced the compressor wheel diameter by 5% and the turbo rotor by 11% compared to the V8 applications, despite the very high specific power. The reduction in the rotating masses (the inertia of the two rotating elements has been reduced by 11% compared to the 3.9l V8 solution) has reduced the spool-up time ensuring instantaneous power delivery.
The crankshaft is made from nitrided steel. To ensure it has a 120° crank angle, after the initial forging of the rough ingot, the crankshaft is twisted and then subject to deep nitriding heat treatments (to guarantee resistance to high loads), machining and balancing. The firing order of the new V6 (1-6-3-4-2-5) is the result of the crankshaft journal geometry. 100% of the rotating masses and 25% of the alternating masses are balanced, and therefore its level of balance allows loads on the bushings to be reduced without increasing the weight of the engine.
The variable displacement oil pump was developed to guarantee that the oil pressure is continuously controlled right across the engine’s entire operating range. A solenoid valve, controlled by the engine ECU in a closed loop, is used to control the pump’s displacement in terms of flow and pressure, delivering only the amount of oil required to guarantee the functioning and reliability of the engine, whilst simultaneously providing a reduction in the power absorbed by the pump itself. On the oil scavenge side, to minimise splashing losses, the suction system was made more powerful using six scavenge rotors: three specific, dedicated rotors for the crankcase below the crank throws, one for the distribution compartment and two for the cylinder heads.
In Ferrari engines, the intake plenum is normally located in the centre of the vee. However, the V6 hails a paradigm shift in that regard: its plenums are on the side of the cylinder heads and are integrated with the support for the throttle valve. The light thermoplastic material used to make them keeps engine weight down. This solution boosts performance because of the shorter ducts and consequent fluid-dynamic detuning, in addition to reducing time-to-boost as a result of the high pressure line’s smaller volume.
This architecture also led to the development of a more linear exhaust line located in the upper part of the engine compartment. The shape of the exhaust reduces back pressure and contributes to boosting performance. The exhaust manifold and catalyser housings are made entirely from Inconel®, a steel-nickel alloy that reduces the weight of the exhaust and makes it more resistant to high temperatures.
Sound-wise, the V6 engine rewrites the rulebook by harmoniously combining two characteristics that are normally diametrically opposed: the force of the turbos and the harmony of the high-frequency notes of a naturally-aspirated V12. Even at low revs, inside the cabin, the soundtrack features the pure V12 orders of harmonics which then, at higher revs, guarantee that typical high-frequency treble. This Ferrari’s soundtrack matches its performance, creating a sense of unprecedented involvement even with the top down, and marking the turning of a new page in Maranello’s berlinetta history.
Even to those outside the car, the shrill sound of the engine is instantly recognisable. The first in the F163 engine family, this V6 earned itself the nickname “piccolo V12” (little V12) during the development phase. The 120° V architecture guarantees a symmetrical firing order while the equal-length, tuned exhaust manifolds combined with the single exhaust line outside the hot-V amplify the pressure waves. These characteristics are what lend such purity to the orders of harmonics, which are further helped by a rev limiter that hits an impressive 8500 rpm. The patented “hot tube” adopted on the 296 GTB has been completely redesigned for the 296 GTS to further enhance the engine sound both when the top is deployed and retracted. It is positioned prior to the exhaust gas treatment systems so that it channels the pure sound into the cabin, further enhancing driver involvement and excitement.
Redesigning the 296 GTS’s engine bay to seamlessly integrate the retractable hard top means that the engine has the same wonderfully rich tone and intensity as the 296 GTB when the roof is up. The exhaust resonator system (Hot-Tube) has been optimised for the new cockpit geometry. When the top is retracted the whole driving experience goes into another dimension: the dropping of the top creates a direct, completely unobstructed connection between the cockpit and the sound produced by the single tailpipe exhaust line.
ELECTRIC MOTOR
This is the first ever Ferrari spider with a rear-wheel drive-only PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) architecture in which the ICE is integrated with a rear-mounted electric motor producing up to 122 kW (167 cv) derived from the Formula 1 application from which it also inherits the MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit, Kinetic) moniker. The electric motor and ICE communicate via the Transition Manager Actuator (TMA) which allows them to be used both together to produce a combined power output of 830 cv, or decouples them to allow the electric motor to run solo.
Aside from the V6 turbo and the 8-speed DCT already adopted on the SF90 Stradale, Ferrari Roma, Portofino M, the SF90 Spider and the 296 GTB, the powertrain architecture also includes the MGU-K electric motor positioned between the engine and gearbox, the TMA to decouple the electric motor from the ICE, the 7.45 Kwh high voltage battery, and the inverter which controls the electric motors.
The MGU-K is a dual-rotor single-stator axial flux motor. Its compact size and its structure allowed the length of the powertrain to be reduced which, in the final analysis, helped shorten the 296 GTS’s wheelbase. The electric motor charges the high voltage battery, turns on the ICE, supplies it with additional torque and power (up to 167 cv) and allows the car to be driven in all-electric eDrive mode. The MGU-K’s improved design allows it to reach maximum torque of 315 Nm, around 20% more than previous applications.
296 GTS
Technical Specifications
POWERTRAIN
Type V6 – 120° – turbo – dry sump
Overall displacement 2992 cm3
Bore and stroke 88 mm x 82 mm
Max. power output ICE* 663 cv
Max. power output hybrid system** 610 kW (830 cv) at 8000 rpm
Max. torque 740 Nm at 6250 rpm
Max. revs 8500 rpm
Compression ratio 9.4:1
High voltage battery capacity 7.45 kWh
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS
Length 4565 mm
Width 1958 mm
Height 1191 mm
Wheelbase 2600 mm
Front track 1665 mm
Rear track 1632 mm
Dry weight*** 1540 kg
Dry weight/power ratio 1.86 kg/cv
Weight distribution 40.5 % front / 59.5 % rear
Rear bench capacity 112 litres
Fuel tanks capacity 65 litres
TYRES AND WHEELS
Front 245/35 ZR 20 J9.0
Rear 305/35 ZR 20 J11.0
BRAKES
Front 398 x 223 x 38 mm
Rear 360 x 233 x 32 mm
TRANSMISSION AND GEARBOX
8-speed F1 DCT
ELECTRONIC CONTROLS
eSSC: eTC, eDiff, SCM, FDE2.0, EPS, ABS Evo, 6w-CDS; high-performance ABS/EBD with energy recovery
PERFORMANCE
Max. speed > 330 km/h
0-100 km/h 2.9 s
0-200 km/h 7.6 s
200-0 km/h 107 m
Fiorano lap time 1’ 21” 80
FUEL CONSUMPTION AND CO2 EMISSIONS
Under homologation