The new Ferrari 296 GT3, the customer car that will replace the 488 GT3 Evo in 2023, has fully removable front and rear parts to facilitate maintenance. This was revealed by the Italian manufacturer during the presentation of the car before the Spa 24 Hours of GT World Challenge Europe.
The front and rear body sections can be removed in one piece, while both ends of the car are built on detachable subframes for ease of maintenance.
Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of GT Competition Car Design at Ferrari, said: “We looked at how they do things in Formula 1 and the prototypes, and we copied that. We exchanged some ideas and concepts with the F1 team. He added that there had been a lot of interaction with « all Ferrari departments »including the Scuderia, during the development of the 296 GT3.
Ferrari 296 GT3
Cannizzo explained that making the Ferrari GT3 easier to use and maintain had been one of the guiding principles in the design and development of the new car. « We thought about this from the design stage, because we wanted to simplify assembly and make running on the track much easier »did he declare.
« When you remove the front or rear body, there is only one electrical connector [à chaque extrémité], and not piles of cables everywhere. How easy the car is to run and how quickly you can change components are key to performance. The front and rear bodies can be changed very quickly, in seconds, although there are still studies to be done to find out precisely at what speed. »
The full specification of the 296 GT3 was unveiled at its reveal, which followed the release of the first photos of the car during a shakedown at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track in April.
Engine of the Ferrari 296 GT3
The engine retains the architecture and capability of the road-going 296 GTB launched in 2021, meaning it’s a three-liter twin-turbo V6 with a 120-degree V. Cannizzo revealed that Ferrari’s Attivita Sportive GT department had been involved in the road- going 296 program from the start of its development.
“We started working with them from the start analyzing the requirements for the race car”, he said, adding that this played a big role in the decision to go for the wide-angle configuration of the engine. The latter has indeed made it possible to house the turbos inside the V for better integration.
The engine was tilted two degrees front to rear in the name of aerodynamic efficiency. « Two degrees doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s enough for the diffuser to be properly designed and sized to increase efficiency and have better ride height sensitivity at the rear. »said Cannizzo.
The wheelbase of the car has been increased by 60mm compared to the road version, as permitted by the 2022 regulations, in order to make it more accessible, especially for amateur drivers. The racing car has a different gearbox housing than the road car because it dispenses with the hybrid system, which is not permitted in GT3.
Ferrari 296 GT3
This is the first Ferrari GT3 to be designed exclusively by Attivita Sportive GT; the previous three generations of Ferraris built to GT3 rules had been developed in collaboration with Michelotto, an external tuner.
French manufacturer ORECA has taken over the assembly of Michelotto’s Ferrari GT3s for the new project.
The first 296 GT3 has covered around 8,000 km of testing and customer deliveries will begin at the end of the year, before its racing debut next January at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first round of the 2023 IMSA championship.
No price was given for the new car, but Ferrari promised there would be no significant increase over the 488 GT3 Evo.
Ferrari policy is not to publish the prices of its race cars, but the 488 is believed to be close to $500,000 excluding taxes.
Ferrari 296 GT3