THE ENGINE SPINS SMOOTHLY TO THE REV LIMITER AND GENERATES THIRD-ORDER HARMONICS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF A V-12.
Yes, it’s a plug-in hybrid with a turbocharged V-6 engine. But the only people who are going to hate on the Ferrari 296 GTB, who will loudly proclaim it a betrayal of all that’s holy at the house of the Prancing Horse, are those who will never get the chance to drive one. Because if they did, they’d know: The 296 GTB is one of the greatest mid-engine Ferrari sports cars ever built.
This beautifully proportioned and surfaced car certainly looks the part, with subtle homages to the mid-engine 250LM from the 1960s, including the voluptuous rear haunches and a vertical rear screen shrouded by flying buttresses extending from the B-pillar “bridge” that arcs over the rear of the roof. All in all, the 296 GTB is one of the most compact and athletic sports cars from Maranello in some time.
As on the front-engine Roma, the 296 GTB’s rear lights eschew Ferrari’s traditional round format—a move that took
