Every few years, Ferrari takes one of its mid-engined berlinettas and turns it into something lighter, sharper and more focused. The Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia, 458 Speciale and 488 Pista all followed that recipe, and all became icons.

The 296 Speciale is the latest to join that line.

Revealed in April 2025 and now on UK roads, it is the first of these special series cars to use six cylinders and hybrid power. It is also seriously powerful: bar limited-run hypercars such as LaFerrari, no rear-wheel-drive Ferrari has ever had more.

But the headline figure isn't really the point. This car was built to be enjoyed.

A Famous Name Returns

The name will be familiar to any Ferrari enthusiast. The 458 Speciale of 2013 is still regarded as one of the finest driver's cars Maranello has ever made.

According to Ferrari, customers kept asking when the next Speciale was coming, so it gave them the name they were expecting. It is the first time Ferrari has reused a special series name.

Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, summed up the brief in one line: "We wanted the most fun car Ferrari has ever built."

That focus runs through the whole car. Lap times still matter, but the priority was a car that feels agile, responsive and predictable – on the road as much as on a circuit.

The Little V12

At the heart of the Speciale is the 296's 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6. Its cylinders sit at a wide 120-degree angle with the turbochargers tucked inside the vee, and Ferrari's engineers nicknamed it the "piccolo V12" – the little V12.

For the Speciale, it has been reworked rather than simply turned up.

Ferrari has strengthened the pistons, fitted titanium connecting rods from the F80 hypercar, lightened the crankshaft and switched to titanium bolts. The engine is 9kg lighter as a result, and it runs engine maps and a boost strategy developed on the 296 Challenge race car.

On its own, the V6 now produces 690bhp, 36bhp more than in the 296 GTB.

The electric motor, which sits between the engine and gearbox, adds up to 177bhp. Together they deliver 868bhp and 557lb ft – 49bhp more than the 296 GTB.

The full 868bhp comes through an "extra boost" function borrowed from the SF90 XX. Available in Qualify mode, it gives short bursts of additional electric power out of corners, and Ferrari says there is enough for at least a full lap. The electric motor also adds a shove of torque during each upshift, making gearchanges faster and punchier.

When you want to keep things quiet, the battery still gives up to 15 miles of electric-only driving.

Fast by Any Measure

The figures are as serious as you would expect.

0-62mph takes 2.8 seconds, 0-124mph takes 7.0 seconds and top speed is over 205mph. Coming the other way, the Speciale stops from 124mph in just 106 metres.

Around Ferrari's Fiorano test track, it lapped in 1 minute 19 seconds. That is around 2.5 seconds quicker than the 488 Pista, and faster than LaFerrari.

Lighter and More Planted

The Speciale weighs from 1,410kg dry with its lightweight options fitted, more than 60kg less than the 296 GTB.

Carbon fibre is used for the door panels, centre tunnel and seats, with carbon bumpers and engine cover available as options.

It also works much harder with the air. Downforce rises to 435kg at 155mph, 20 per cent more than the 296 GTB.

A new duct in the nose, which Ferrari calls an "aero damper", helps keep the downforce at the front steady. The bonnet gains louvres inspired by the 296 GT3 race car, and fins at the rear borrow ideas from the FXX K and 296 Challenge. The active rear spoiler now moves 50 per cent faster and gains a new medium-downforce setting.

Race Car Know-How Underneath

The suspension draws on the 296 GT3 race car, with Multimatic dampers and titanium springs. The Speciale sits 5mm lower than the GTB and rolls 13 per cent less in corners.

The carbon-ceramic brakes are paired with a new system called ABS Evo, designed to make braking more precise and more consistent lap after lap.

Michelin developed bespoke Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres for the car, drawing on its work with Ferrari on the F80.

A More Purposeful 296

Visually, the Speciale is more aggressive without losing the clean lines of the 296. Look for the louvred bonnet, the suspended front splitter, the rear fins, a three-channel rear diffuser and a single central exhaust.

Ferrari also created a new colour for the car, Verde Nürburgring. Buyers can add a racing livery too, with one or two stripes running the length of the car and a race number from 00 to 99.

Inside, the cabin is simpler and more focused, with more Alcantara, exposed carbon fibre and a prominent gearshift gate. The steering wheel also brings back physical buttons in place of the 296 GTB's touch-sensitive controls, a change reviewers have welcomed.

The Open-Top Speciale A

Ferrari revealed an open-top version, the 296 Speciale A, at the same time.

It shares the coupé's 868bhp powertrain and adds a retractable hard top that opens or closes in 14 seconds. Extra strengthening around the pillars and sills keeps the structure stiff, and it weighs from 1,490kg dry – around 50kg less than the 296 GTS.

0-62mph still takes 2.8 seconds, with 0-124mph in 7.3 seconds.

A Modern Classic in the Making

Customer deliveries began in early 2026, and the early verdicts have been glowing. Top Gear named the 296 Speciale its Supercar of the Year, and reviewers have praised its ferocious but usable performance, supple ride, superb brakes and harder-edged sound.

It is not a numbered limited edition. Instead, Ferrari is building it for a limited time only, and it is reserved for existing Ferrari clients – broadly, those who have bought a new or approved used Ferrari in the last five years.

The 296 Speciale proves the special series formula still works in the hybrid era. Fewer cylinders, more power, and a car built above all to be enjoyed.

The Speciale name is back – and it looks set to take its place among the great driver's Ferraris.