Drivelines

The Ferrari 296 Speciale gets the once-a-generation factory treatment—and a name that's basically a self-fulfilling prophecy.

- David Beard

HOW SPECIAL is this Speciale? The spicier version of the Ferrari 296 must be extra, because its two-year production run was spoken for even before the Italian automaker publicly admitted the car existed. Desire makes things special, right? Ferrari isn’t even saying how many of the $475,364 coupes are being built or earmarked for the States—that's privileged information. Well, isn’t that special?

For those unfamiliar with Ferrari's Special Series, allow us to recap the droolworthy roster of entry-level mid-engine machines. The 360 Challenge Stradale started the party. Then came the 430 Scuderia and the 458 Speciale. Most recently, there was the 488 Pista, with a manic twin-turbo V-8 that pulled so hard our hairlines haven't recovered. Those legends paved the way; now it's the 296's turn for the Speciale treatment.

So, where does Ferrari start when making an already great car even better? Aerodynamics. While there's no park-bench wing on the tail, what Ferrari calls Gamma wings have sprouted from the car's hips to improve airflow and add downforce. Between these winglets is an active rear flap with a new intermediate position when full downforce isn't required. For maximum squish, the flap rises 2.8 inches from the trailing edge in just 0.5 second.