After Ferrari released the brand's first commercially available mid-rear V6 engine plug-in hybrid supercar 296 GTB last June, nearly a year later, the convertible version of the car, the 296 GTS, was also officially unveiled!
---- is so different from GTB
The biggest difference between the 296 GTS and the GTB is, of course, the roof of the car – the 296 GTS can open or close the lightweight foldable hard-top convertible in just 14 seconds at a speed of no more than 45km/h.
The dividing line between the body and the canopy is located above the B-pillar, while the foldable hard-top convertible is divided into two parts, folded and stored in front of the rear engine, so as to ensure that the heat dissipation effect of the engine compartment and the design aesthetics of the whole vehicle are not affected. At the same time, the designer also designed a window at the rear of the engine cover to show the rare V6 engine inside!
When the convertible is opened, the cockpit is separated from the rear deck by a height-adjustable glass rear window to ensure ride comfort.
It can be imagined that the 296 GTS cockpit is behind the engine compartment, but also to free up a place to put the roof canopy, how to design the canopy shape, structure to take into account the collection and beauty, very challenging. With this in mind, under the leadership of Flavio Manzoni, the Ferrari Design Center has created a new canopy design for the new car, which makes the body geometry of the 296 GTS very different from other French convertibles.
The engine compartment of the Ferrari 296 GTB is completely horizontal and features two flying buttresses design structures as a tribute to the Ferrari 250 Le Mans prototype.
In general, the body strength of the convertible may be slightly worse than that of the hard-top model due to the lack of some roof structure. To overcome this problem, Ferrari redesigned and optimised the chassis of the 296 GTB, resulting in a 50% increase in torsional stiffness and an 8% increase in beam stiffness, covering the main areas of A-pillar, B-pillar and sill.
The weight of the 296 GTS is 1540kg, which is slightly heavier than the 296 GTB by 70kg, which shows that Ferrari has indeed given enough material to enhance the body structure and safety!
------ 610kW of firepower
The power part is the same as the 296 GTB, which is equipped with Ferrari's F163, the displacement of 2992c.c., its maximum output of 488kW / 8000rpm, to say that it can really adjust a 3.0T machine to such power, it is already worthy of Ferrari production. But in addition, the 296 GTS/GTB power system also has an output of 122kW motor, the total power of the two swords can reach 610KW, making the 296 GTS zero hundred acceleration as long as 2.9 seconds, the top speed of up to 330km/h!
In fact, the V6 engine is not new to the Ferrari brand, but a return, because as early as 1957, the Ferrari Dino 156 F2 single-seater car was first used in the V6 machine. Later, in 1958, the larger displacement V6 units were also used in Ferrari 196 S, 296 S, and Ferrari 246 F1 cars.
The F163 engine has a 120° angle design, which is obvious that Ferrari still wants this engine to have a lower center of gravity and can easily install the turbine between the engine angles.
But because of the large angle design and the high speed of the engine, Ferrari must be twisted when creating a forged crankshaft, and then deep nitriding heat treatment to ensure high load resistance.
In addition to the engine, as well as the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission and electronic differential (E-Diff), another key to making the 296 GTS fast and fuel-efficient is the kinetic motor generator unit (MGU-K), which is located between the engine and the motor, so that in eDrive pure mode, the engine output can be decoupled from the gearbox, and only the rear wheels are driven by the motor. In other driving modes, the Transition Management Brake (TMA) also allows the motor and engine to work together to produce a maximum power of 610kW.
The motor has a maximum torque of 315 Nm and the electricity comes from a 7.45kWh capacity battery located at the bottom of the rear of the cockpit. When power is scarce, the 296 GTS can accept external charging and can also generate electricity autonomously through the generator unit, ensuring that the motor has enough operating power at all times.
Such a powerful and rear-wheel drive 296 GTS, of course, needs more intelligent technology to ensure vehicle handling performance and safety, one of which is the electronic side slip angle control system (eSSC), which can estimate the grip of the tire at each turn, including judging under what circumstances the sports car has not achieved the best grip, so that the control unit can intervene correctly according to the grip conditions. When driving on the track, the eSSC system estimates grip 35% faster than the previous system!
------ adapt to the changes of the times
Inside the car, the layout is basically the same as the 296 GTB, and the new generation of Ferrari products feel that the interior has a more luxurious texture, a more high-tech atmosphere, and a more avant-garde and sharp sculptural sense.
Under the tide of environmental protection, Ferrari, which has always insisted on large-displacement self-priming, first used a smaller displacement V8 turbo engine from the 488, and now there are plug-in hybrid models with V6+ motors, I don't know how long the top V12 self-priming machine can last?
Fortunately, all these changes, for the performance of the vehicle is non-destructive, in the future may be more and more difficult to hear the Ferrari engine hovering at 8000 ~ 9000 rpm when the resonance of the nerve of the operation of the sound, but to the car faster than fast or will not be disappointed...
Come all come, don't you like it?