Until this year, Ferrari has never produced a V6 road car, at least not under its own name (the 206 GT and 246 GT of the late ’60s and early ’70s were offered under the Dino sub-brand). As such, you can bet on Maranello gifting the new 296 range with a plethora of assets, so the six-cylinder (hybrid) models could raise eyebrows for the right reasons, which they have done in reviews. And an independent digital artist has now painted a 296-based Ferrari rally car, bringing the brand back into an arena it left decades ago.
To make things clear from the get-go, we’ll mention that while the 296 GTB coupe and 296 GTS folding hardtop version have already been released, Ferrari is currently working on a 296 GT3 racer for the 2023 season. However, with the Italians having already paraded the 296 GT3 around (check out the YouTube video below), albeit in camouflaged form, the artist known as Hakosan Design enjoyed solid inspiration for his creation(s).
Back in the late 1970s, Ferrari had lost its edge in Formula One. And while it took Enzo a few years to see the team bringing the laurels home once again, this also opened the door for taking part in other forms of racing, with rallying being on the table.
Maranello entered the rally arena with the help of Michelotto, a 1969-established dealer that used to handle race car conversions back in the day. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ferrari and Michelotto fielded multiple rally cars, even taking on the most ludicrous form of rallying to date, the infamous Group B.
While only experiencing limited success, the efforts led to the birth of the iconic 288 GTO and even set the stage for the creation of the legend that is the F40, so we owe a great deal to those racing days.
Ferrari 296 GTX rally car
Forget the RWD nature of the 296 street cars. This jacked-up rally version comes in AWD form, while slightly pushing the stock output to 850 horsepower.
There’s a widebody approach based on the said real-world GT3, while the mandatory extra lights are also present. The cabin has also been revised, with the main change involving a pair of competition seats.
And while the artist rendered studio shots of the beast, he also placed the machine in a natural environment—seeing a Ferrari that can step off the beaten path and ahead of the upcoming Purosangue crossover, is quite something!
The artist also dreamt up a 296 GTX customer racer
This fictional racer seems quite fit for Ferrari’s Corse Clienti customer racing program. For the record, this would succed the LaFerrari-based FXX-K Evo released in 2017. For one, the aero includes the sort of pieces we’re used to seeing in this one-make racing series, such as massive wings and aggressive air channels/canards.
This aims to forego the electric part of the street car’s powertrain, just like the real-world GT3 (more on this below). Note that the showroom versions mix a twin-turbo 3.0L V6 making 654 hp with a 164 hp electric motor sitting between the first and the 8-speed dual-clutch tranny for a total of 818 hp.
However, as per the current regulations, the real-world GT3 racer is expected to skip the electric hardware, while replacing the DCT gearbox with a sequential one. The vehicle is currently being developed with French specialist and race team Oreca and is expected to replace the aging 488 GT3 (there will probably be no F8 Tributo-based racer). With 429 wins from 770 starts, the 488 GT3 has become Ferrari’s most successful race car to date, so the GT3 needs to perform impeccably.
Without the hybridization bits that push the road car to a dry weight of 1,470 kg (3,241 lbs) and making extensive use of exotic materials like carbon, the 296 GTX is envisioned as a featherweight 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs) velocity instrument. As for the motivation, the artist has dared to dream about the V6 engine being pushed to a full 960 hp in race spec.
Bonus: a “stanced” street version
The pixel master also built on a well-known Ferrari fetish for this stanced version. The Italians love building race cars based on their road vehicles, with some of the latter then lending their tech to extreme street-legal special editions.
Now, given that Ferrari’s range is also comprised of V8 and V12 models, the V6 effort that its the 296 may never receive such an all-out iteration due to cannibalization risks. Even so, this virtual one loses the wings of the other two rendered models. And its clean-not-clean look is enhanced with wheel covers resembling the Turbofan racing wheels of old.
Air suspension is present, which allows the vehicle to exhibit the kind of ride height that would make even its racing siblings jealous. So yes, you can now pick between a full range of poisons in the gallery below.
