The rear-wheel-drive 296 GTB is anything but entry-level, as I found recently while driving through the olive-treed hills outside Seville, Spain. With an engine that goes from zero to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, a top speed of more than 205 mph, and 819 total horsepower, the 296 GTB goes faster around Ferrari’s test track in Fiorino than even the $1.5 million LaFerrari hybrid supercar, according to the company. And with a starting price of $318,000, it’s a bit more approachable than the LaFerrari’s wallet-emptying seven-figure sum.
Ferrari’s 296 GTB is not, as some have suggested, the new Dino. But you could be forgiven for thinking this curvaceous coupe is a modern-day incarnation. The 296 GTB is powered by a V-6, just like the stylish mid-engine icons that Enzo Ferrari produced from 1957 to 1976 and named after his son. The 75-year-old brand hasn’t made a V-6 engine since—until now, with the 296 GTB.
The Dino, though, never sported the official “Ferrari” badge. Because it lacked the power and craftsmanship of the V-12 cars Ferrari was making then, it was positioned instead as the gateway car into the world of “real” Ferraris.
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