The 360 Modena marked a ground-breaking advancement over the preceeding F355. For its new model, which debuted in 1999, Ferrari worked with Alcoa to develop an aluminum space-frame—a complete departure from its previous decades of steel-tube chassis construction. Aluminum has formed the backbone of every regular-production Ferrari built since.
The 296 GTB ushered in its own revolution when it appeared in 2021. In place of the earlier 488 and F8’s twin-turbo V8s, the 296 featured a smaller-displacement twin-turbo V6, enhanced by an electric motor.
As is the norm with Ferrari’s mid-engine sports cars, both the 360 and the 296 quickly spawned drop-top variants. The 360 Spider arrived in 2000, boasting Ferrari’s first-ever fully electric soft top and tipping the scales by only 132 pounds over the Modena (so named, by the way, for the town where Il Commendatore was born, just 11 miles from Maranello). The 296 GTS debuted in 2022 with the latest version of Ferrari’s folding hard top, and a 154-lb. difference to its coupe counterpart.
On a perfect late-spring day in Cape Town, South Africa, after a very wet (and very long) winter, I meet the owners of these two convertibles, eager to make the most of the long-overdue warm weather and keep both cars’ roofs stowed for the entire shoot. And why not, since this is their raison d’etre? After all, Ferrari itself sees coupe and convertible buyers as different audiences. So let’s drop the tops and get started.
THE FIRST THING I NOTE about the 360 Spider is its relatively unassuming, non-aggressive appearance. Pininfarina’s lines are smooth and rounded, there’s no rear wing, and you’ll find just six air inlets on the front and sides; visually, this is arguably one of the cleanest and most straightforward mid-engined Ferraris. While some enthusiasts might find it too smooth and rounded—the surrounding F355 and F430 received sharper, more angular lines—there’s a flow and a purity to the 360’s shape that both its precursor and successor lack. I think it’s aged very well.
Lowering the roof reveals a pair of roll-over hoops which integrate perfectly with the accompanying small fairings and mostly flat rear deck. The large glass cover over the engine is a true thing of beauty, allowing passersby to witness the heart of the car.
That heart is Ferrari’s first normally aspirated V8 to reach the 400-hp mark. It’s an increase of 20 ponies over the F355, thanks to a 2-mm increase in stroke and resulting additional 90 cc of displacement. That’s not a lot by today’s standards, but since the 360 Spider tips the scales at a still respectable 3,197 lbs., it offers a respectable power-to-weight ratio.
This Spider’s owner, Greg Marucchi [“All Things Italian,” FORZA #214], remembers tracking the development of what was known internally as the Tipo F131 prior to its unveiling. Having an eye for detail, he decided to have his car’s number plate match the model’s code. This particular Ferrari was originally ordered with the Carrozzeria Scaglietti package, which explains the carbon-fiber seats, 360 Challenge rear grille, and “mesh instead of slats in the two front air intakes.
“It’s a wonderful all-round car,” Marucchi tells me. “When I’m in Cape Town, it’s my everyday car. I’m not into red Ferraris, so the color, Argento Nürburgring, was the right one for me. With the roof down, even on a cloudy spring day, there’s nothing quite like it, whether it’s the performance or the visual highlights, like seeing the engine as you walk up to the car.”
When I open the door and drop inside, the layout holds no surprises. I sit low in the car, very close to the ground. This particular Spider is outfitted with the F1 transmission (the 360 was the second V8 Ferrari to receive paddleshift-ers after the F355), which, due to there being no gear lever on the transmission tunnel, frees up a lot of space. Instead of the legendary open shift gate, this car has only a quaint, miniature T-bar selector for reverse gear, complemented by the two buttons for traction control and the transmission’s Automatic mode.
Beyond that, there’s a radio/CD player and a few buttons and knobs for the HVAC system, but no infotainment screen in sight. Behind the steering wheel are five analog dials, the two most important being the central tachometer (with an invitingly high redline of 8,500 rpm) and, on the right, the speedometer.
There’s no need for playing around, figuring out, wondering, or searching for something needed to operate the car—a truly appealing feature for many of us. I slot the metal key into the ignition slot, press the immobilizer on the key fob, turn the key, and the engine immediately barks into life. The exhaust note is decent, if nothing remarkable, at least not compared with what’s to come.
The steering wheel feels welcoming and appropriate in my hands, while those optional carbon-fiber seats both support my body and feel unexpectedly comfortable. I pull the right-hand paddle to select first (pulling both paddles at the same time drops the transmission into neutral), give it some gas, and away we go.
From the driver’s seat, I can see the tops of the front fenders, and the Ferrari never feels large at all. In fact, it seems quite compact. I can feel the Spider’s age on rough roads, as scuttle shake makes its presence known—Marucchi hopes new tires will reduce the effect—but that concern disappears quickly as the engine makes its presence known with a surprising (for such a high-revving engine) groundswell of torque.
At the lower end of the rev range, the exhaust offers a crisp, metallic note. As I keep the throttle pinned and the tachometer needle rushes past 5,000 rpm, the sound erupting from the rear rises from the mildly metallic to something that can only be described as a high-pitched mechanical scream. Both myself and photographer Mocke burst out laughing—what an intense sound from a factory exhaust system! It should sound even better to those who hear it from outside the car, but bystanders won’t be able to enjoy the Ferrari’s immediate throttle response.
Unfortunately, this immediacy is not replicated by the F1 transmission’s shift speed. Compared to modern dual-clutch gearboxes, or even performance-oriented automatics, this single-clutch automated manual gearbox shifts slowly—slower even than the F1 setup in the F355. There’s nothing for it, so after a while I learn to plan my shifts ahead. Which helps, a little.
Returning to the positives: The 360 Spider feels light, and light on its feet, especially when I stand on the brake pedal. Adding to this sense of fundamental rightness is a steering feel and weight that modern cars simply don’t offer. The modestly sticky tires offer modest levels of grip (again, by modern standards), which makes this Ferrari nicely tossable in the turns, as well as “perfectly balanceable with the throttle. As I park the car at our turnaround point, I wonder if 400 hp is the sweet spot. Do we really need more than this?
THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW about the 296 is that it produces more than double the power of the 360. More than double. I’m well aware of how engine performance has grown in leaps and bounds over the past two decades, but, standing here with these two Ferraris, it’s honestly difficult to grasp the reality.
The 296’s Blu Tour De France paint stands in strong contrast to the 360’s silver, though it’s not so dark that it hides the details. The rear end is probably the busiest from a visual point of view. Here, you will find the exhausts up high (this car wears Ferrari’s optional black ceramic tips) and an extremely short rear overhang (as is also the case up front). The diffuser protrudes slightly from behind the rear wheels, and from the rear the 296 looks in some ways like a pure race car. It was a hit from the moment it was unveiled, with most enthusiasts and journalists singing its design praises, especially those visual elements that hark back to the 250 LM.
What immediately grabs my attention is the Ferrari’s compact size. We’ve all grown used to cars getting heavier and bigger with each generation, but here the scale has been kept to a minimum. Although the 296 GTS weighs around 400 pounds more than the 360 Spider, that’s understandable given 20 years of additional crash-safety regulations, modern creature comforts, and the exotic hybrid powertrain. The two cars’ external dimensions are nearly identical, with the 360 Spider actually being marginally taller than the 296.
Once I slide inside, I discover the newer car’s cabin is slightly smaller. This is not a negative, however, since I feel completely ensconced in the cabin, as well as part of the car. It’s a crisp, modern space.
On the other hand, with all the additional technology, something had to give—and in this case, many of the controls required to operate said tech are hidden away in sub-menus on the large infotainment screen, accessed via haptic
pads on the steering wheel. Fortunately, some important controls remain easily accessible, including the Start “button” (which is now simply a sensitive area at the bottom of the steering wheel) and the manettino and eManettino drive and hybrid-mode selectors.
Ferrari has managed to achieve a relatively exciting exhaust note from its 120-degree 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, which, in an era of particulate filters, is a relief. Even when you stand outside and hear the 296 drive off, you can tell there’s something interesting under the rear deck. That said, there’s no question the 360 Spider’s exhaust note wins this battle by a country mile.
The 296 starts in full-electric mode and offers a little over 15 miles of internal combustion-free range. When the V6 is running, the hybrid system shuffles battery and gasoline power almost unnoticeably, only sometimes subtly notifying me what’s happening.
At low speeds, the 296 feels so unstressed you’d be forgiven in thinking the car isn’t capable of any serious performance—but everything changes dramatically when I flex my right foot in earnest. The (digital) tachometer needle quickly jumps past 4,000 and 5,000 rpm, and at 6,000 rpm I feel like I should short-shift because the onslaught is so intense. It’s practically unbelievable there’s another 2,500 rpm left to play with! It takes some commitment to keep my right foot planted, as the combination of power and, particularly, the combined 546 lb-ft of torque from the engine and electric motor create a push that instantly focuses my mind on the horizon. This is a seriously fast car.
Like the 360, the 296 feels light and nimble. The modern electrically assisted steering doesn’t feel as alive as the hydraulic setup on the 360, but turn-in is light-years quicker. Grip levels are very high, the 296 rides extremely well, and, unlike the 360, I detected
no scuttle shake. The view through the 296’s windscreen is also alluring, as I can see much of the shapely front fenders, not to mention the beautiful Beige Tradizione leather in the cabin that contrasts with the dark exterior color.
It takes some time to grasp the notion that the 296 is Ferrari’s entry-level mid-engined regular-production sports car—the very same role the 360 once held—especially since it’s so compelling to drive. I recently had a brief fling with an SF90 Stradale, which, although unquestionably a technical tour de force, left me a little cold. There’s no doubt in my mind which one I’d buy, and it’s only a bonus that the more enjoyable car costs so much less.
AS WE PARK BOTH FERRARIS and listen to the pinging sounds of them cooling down, the owners, who had traded cars during this time, exchange notes.
“I’ve driven some fast cars in my life, but the 296 is relentless and particularly rapid,” says Marucchi. “It has a wonderful chassis and design, and is also superbly composed while having such a compact footprint. The engine is little quiet, but this would make a great everyday Ferrari.”
“There are a couple of negative elements I would like to point out,” admits the 296’s owner. “If you are taller than 6-foot-5, you’ll find the cabin very tight. And, the abundance of touch pads connected to the rather complicated infotainment screen takes some time to learn. The exterior dimensions of the car are perfect, though. This is a true ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ type of car, with astonishing accelerative force, yet it feels competent at all times. It’s also an easy car to live with.
“This was the first time I drove a 360,” he continues. “I had to get used to the slow transmission, but the engine and exhaust sounds are unbelievably intense and visceral, which is not the case with the 296.”
So it’s clear the 296 has moved the goal posts. Its performance is mind-bendingly impressive, and at the same time you can spend hours in this car in utter comfort covering long distances. The GTS version simply adds to the experience.
The 360 is, for obvious reasons, a slower and more old-school experience—but I have to admit that, during this drive, I didn’t find it any less exciting. Its 400 horses are perfectly adequate, and the rawness of the engine, the screaming exhaust note, and the simple, straightforward way you interact with the car simply can’t be matched by the newer 296.
