THE NEW FERRARI 296 CHALLENGE IS QUITE THE LOOKER WITH THE POWER TO MATCH.
The Ferrari Challenge is one of those racing series that’s a sort of a way for the Italian automaker to give back to its clients who want to drive a Ferrari as fast as possible without getting in trouble with the law. It’s also a series that sees drivers compete on an even playing field because all the cars are the same and the lap times and wins come down to driver skill. As you’d expect, the cars used in the race series need updates too, and they do happen just not as often as with the roadgoing models. It’s clearly a great initiative, the start of which dates back to the early 90s and to make sure there was access to more millionaires it was cleverly divided into two continental series covering Europe and North America. In 2019 the series was extended to include the UK, and in 2023 a Japanese series was fired up. Each series is divided into four main categories; Trofeo Pirelli, Trofeo Pirelli Am, Coppa Shell and Coppa Shell Am, and these are set up based on the level of skill and competitiveness of the gentleman drivers. This means each race will have four winners. The privateers and corporate race teams that campaign cars in these different series get serious mileage for their efforts as the race series is broadcast in over 90 countries worldwide and can be seen live on YouTube. From 2017 to now, the available Challenge car was based on the 488, but there’s a new Ferrari kid on the block.
What you see here is now the 9th factory-built Challange car, and it’s a serious upgrade over the outgoing Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo. It must have been an easy choice to create a Challenge car from the 296 considering the 296 GT3 was revealed not too long ago. GT3 spec is a lot more intense than what a Challenge car needs, so this looks like a tamed-down version of the GT3 spec, but it’s still clear the car is destined for track use. The street version, the 296 GTB is still a looker in its own right, of course. With the Challenge car being derived from the 296 GTB, it uses the same powerplant but with all the right tweaks for it to produce serious power along with the reliability needed to thrash the car for lap after lap at full race pace. The 296 Challenge features the same twin-turbocharged 120-degree V6 that measures in at 3.0-litres. One major difference is that the electric side of the hybrid powerplant no longer features. The car still pushes out a whopping 550 Kw of power with 750 Nm of torque, which is a new power record for the segment with 177 kW/litre. The new aero generates in excess of 870 kg of downforce at 250 km/h with the spoiler at its maximum angle of attack and it features new CCM-R PLUS brake discs and wears specially-developed Pirelli tyres. The new 296 Challenge car will be revealed on the eve of the Finali Mondiali that takes place at Mugello on the last weekend of October. That should get some proper awareness on the car and rack up a few orders. We can’t help but winder here at SCdrv is there’s also a set list of Ferrari racecars you have to own before you’re allowed to buy a Challenge car like you need to do if you want to buy a range-topping Ferrari road car.
Take a look at the YouTube video from Akhyar Studio that takes us on a slower look at all these new images of the new Ferrari 296 Challenge, an evolution of the Italian automaker's factory-built racecars. THis one follows on the 296 GT3 that was built for, well, GT3-class racing. This one is a little more understated, but we reckon it looks better: Unveiling The 2024 Ferrari 296 Challenge: Redefining Ferrari's Racing Legacy | Akhyar Studio
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