296 GTB: hybrid reality check
A road test of Ferrari’s 296 GTB at Goodwood praises the performance but warns the hybrid battery promise carries ownership costs — short EV driving is real, but long‑term maintenance and charging logistics add complexity and expense. The review argues buyers must weigh hybrid servicing demands alongside the car’s electrified performance gains. (autoblog.com)
The 296 GTB’s high‑voltage pack is a 7.45‑kWh unit that Ferrari and independent spec sheets list as providing roughly 25 km (about 15.5 miles) of electric driving under WLTP‑style testing. (auto-data.net) Ferrari published two named programs — Warranty Extension Hybrid and Power Hybrid — that schedule a high‑voltage‑battery (HVB) replacement in year 8 and again in year 16 for covered PHEV models including the 296 GTB. (ferrari.com) Hybrid‑specific components on Ferrari PHEVs carry five years of factory coverage, and the extended programs can be purchased after an authorized inspection and will transfer to subsequent owners. (motorauthority.com) Industry reporting and sources told Reuters that the extended programs were priced at roughly €7,000 per year (about $7,500), a recurring cost that underpins the manufacturer’s promise of scheduled HVB replacements. (wardsauto.com) Ferrari supplies plug‑in charging equipment and dealers have published charging walkthroughs, and third‑party spec pages estimate a full top‑up of the 7.45‑kWh pack at a typical 7.4‑kW home wall box will take on the order of one hour. (ferraribeverlyhills.com) Ferrari’s communications stress that replacement HVBs will be “state‑of‑the‑art” units intended to preserve original performance, but the company’s announcements did not publish a direct per‑unit replacement price for 296‑class battery packs. Owner communities and buyer guides continue to flag uncertainty about out‑of‑warranty HVB costs and used‑car pricing implications, with forum threads and cost analyses noting that prospective long‑term owners are still estimating multi‑thousand‑dollar to much larger eventual bills. (ferrarichat.com)
