Ferrari's 296 Challenge Stradale Already Looks Wild

The Ferrari 296 represents Ferrari's first mid-engined 120° V6. When it was initially introduced, people weren't sure whether the Italian thoroughbred spirit would actually translate to a V6, and after a few years on the market, it seems like it has. Ferrari was so satisfied with how the V6 performs and sounds that it even called it a "piccolo V12."

The 296 range was also joined by the limited-edition Ferrari 296 Speciale, a more track-focused road car that hopes to dial the performance of the normal 296 up to 11. It makes 880 horsepower and weighs 3,109 pounds dry. At Ferrari's Fiorano test track, it lapped the circuit in 1:19, two full seconds quicker than the regular 296 GTB. 

However, according to spy shots circulating online, we're about to get an even more focused 296: the Ferrari 296 Challenge Stradale, a 296 Challenge for the road. Ferrari isn't the only one who wanted such a car, though. YouTuber Mat Armstrong brought a totaled Ferrari 296 back to life by fitting Challenge body parts to the crashed road car, until Ferrari found out and stopped him buying more. Now, here are the spy shots of Ferrari's own take.

We've already seen a few reported spy shots of the road-going 296 Challenge featuring a large swan-neck rear spoiler akin to the racing version, but this new set of shots taken a few days ago in Germany show one without it. It also wears red camouflage instead, plus neon-yellow "Flow-Viz" paint on the body, a trick borrowed from Formula 1 for aerodynamic testing.

Up front, you can clearly see larger air intakes. Behind the bumper and in front of the front wheels, two side flaps are stacked one above the other. A fairly big giveaway that we are looking at the new road-version of the Challenge are the fully-exposed side skirts which look pretty much identical to the racing version. Parking sensors spotted on earlier prototypes suggest Ferrari plans to register this one for the road. 

Looking at the rear, we can see two massive exhaust pipes, both positioned in the same location as those found on the race version. The entire car looks wider, especially when looking at how the wheels aren't as far out as the camouflaged front and rear ends, suggesting that the car will be wider, just like the racing version. As it looks, these spy shots seem to show a link between the Speciale and the 296 Challenge, and we are all for it.

If you're worried the V6 can't match Ferrari's iconic V8s and V12s, even the most powerful Ferrari ever built, the F80, uses a 3.0-liter 120° V6. Either way, Ferrari is keeping its lips shut in terms of power and performance, but many reports suggest the road-going 296 Challenge will not feature the hybrid part of the 296, meaning that it will be a fully combustion-engine car, exactly like the racing version. 

As such, the road-legal Challenge car isn't likely to share the same 880 horsepower of the 296 Speciale, but also not the 700 horsepower you get from the racing 296 Challenge. Instead, one rumor pegs the road car at around 720 horsepower, which is 160 less than the Speciale but 20 more than the racing car. The same report claims it will weigh about 2,866 pounds dry, roughly 243 pounds less than the Speciale's 3,109 or 375 pounds less than the standard 296. 

The name has history as well: the last Challenge Stradale was the 360 Challenge Stradale in 2003, a car that was also a road-going version of its racecar sibling. The prototype is reportedly set to make its debut as soon as November, with the car joining the lineup in 2027. If it arrives without the hybrid system, the piccolo V12 nickname might never have fit better.