The new customer racing car that will replace the 488 GT3 Evo for 2023 has fully detachable front and rears ends in the name of increased serviceability, Ferrari revealed on the unveiling of the car ahead of this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours round of the GT World Challenge Europe.
The bodywork sections at the front and rear can be removed in one piece, while both ends of the car are built up on detachable subframes for further ease of maintenance.
Ferdinando Cannizzo, head of GT racing car design at Ferrari, said: “We looked at how they are doing things in Formula 1 and prototypes, and copied that.
“We have exchanged some ideas and concepts with the F1 team.”
He added that there had been a lot of interaction with “all departments at Ferrari”, including the Scuderia F1 operation, during development of the 296 GT3.
Cannizzo explained that making the Ferrari’s GT3 racer easier to run and work on had been one of the guiding principles during the new car’s design and development.
“We thought about this from the concept stage, because we wanted to simplify the assembly and the make the track operation much easier,” he said.
“When you remove the front or rear bodywork there is just one electrical connector [at each end], not lots of cables everywhere.
“The ease of running the car and how fast you can change components is a key part of performance.
“The front and rear bodywork can be changed really fast, in seconds, although there is still some investigation to do to see really how fast.”
The full specification of the 296 GT3 was revealed on the launch, which followed the release of the first photographs of the car undertaking a shakedown at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track back in April.
The new race car’s engine retains the architecture and capacity of the road-going 296 GTB launched in 2021, which means it is a three-litre V6 twin-turbo with a 120-degree vee angle.
Cannizzo revealed that Ferrari’s Attivita Sportive GT department had been involved in the 296 road car programme from the start of its development.
“We started with them from the very beginning looking at the requirements for the racing car,” he said.
He explained that this played a big part in the decision to go for the wide-angle configuration of the engine, which has allowed the turbos to be housed inside the vee for more effective packaging.
The engine has been tilted up front to rear by two degrees in the name of aerodynamic efficiency.
“Two degrees doesn’t sound a lot, but it is enough to have the diffuser properly shaped and sized to increase efficiency and to have better rideheight sensitivity at the rear,” said Cannizzo.
The wheelbase of the road car has been increased by 60mm over the road version as allowed in the 2022 GT2 rules, to help make it more user-friendly, particularly for amateur drivers.
The racer has a different gearbox casing to road car because it does away with the hybrid system, which is not permitted in GT3.
The new car is the first Ferrari GT3 to be designed exclusively with Attivita Sportive GT; the three previous generations of Ferrari built to the GT3 rules were developed in conjunction with out-of-house tuner Michelotto.
French constructor ORECA has taken over assembly of Ferrari’s GT3 from Michelotto for the new project.
The first 296 GT3 has completed in the region of 8000km of testing and deliveries to customers will begin at the end of this year ahead of its race debut in next January’s Daytona 24 Hours, the opening round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
No price has been released for the new car, but Ferrari has promised there will not be an significant increase on the 488 GT3 Evo.
Ferrari policy is not to publish prices of its racing cars, but it is believed the 488 is close to $500,000 less taxes.
Friday Favourite: A Spa legend's lifelong love affair
Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi becomes IGTC round for first time
Spa 24 Hours: Lamborghini takes first event pole
Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi becomes IGTC round for first time
Why romanticism isn't the key factor in Lola’s racing return
Spa 24 Hours: Lamborghini takes first event pole
Lamborghini claimed a first pole position for the Spa 24 Hours when Andrea Caldarelli took the spot in the Friday evening Superpole session for US entrant K-Pax Racing.
Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi becomes IGTC round for first time
The Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi has replaced Kyalami as the final round of this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Ferrari launches 296 GT3 car inspired by F1 technology
Ferrari has created a modular racing car that takes lessons from the Italian manufacturer’s Formula 1 team with its new 296 GT3, which was given an official launch on Friday.
Friday Favourite: A Spa legend's lifelong love affair
As a four-time winner of the Spa 24 Hours, it's perhaps only natural that Thierry Tassin picks the Belgian track as his favourite for Autosport's weekly series. Ahead of this weekend's edition of the classic enduro, he explains his personal connection to the circuit where he made his name
How to get the best out of amateur racers
Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The ex-IndyCar racer in "uncharted territory" of British GT team ownership
This weekend’s British GT finale will be a tense title showdown for some but, for those not in the championship fight, it’s a chance to end a challenging year on a high. In the latter camp is Paddock Motorsport's team owner Martin Plowman, whose 2021 season has been a rollercoaster ride of non-stop learning
The unpopular BMW stalwart built for the big occasion
It has won most of the big prizes in endurance racing across its six years in service, but the BMW M6 GT3's key weaknesses meant only a devoted few teams persisted with running it. As it prepares to bow out at season's end, the teams and drivers involved in its story share the secrets of an unpopular winner
The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever
Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today
Why Britain's greatest sportscar was eclipsed on the world stage
The E-Type may be the most famous of all road-going Jaguars, but that didn't always translate into success on the track. After winning on its competition debut in 1961, motorsport success seemed an inevitability, but things didn’t turn out to be quite that straightforward
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
It’s 60 years since the Jaguar E-type arrived and caused a sensation. As our resident racer Ben Anderson discovered when he got behind the wheel of two special racing versions at Brands Hatch, the thrill of driving them hasn't diminished over time
The rise of a GT squad responsible for a unique 24-hour racing feat
It's a significant achievement to win one 24-hour race in a year, let alone two, and with different manufacturers, but that's exactly what ROWE Racing did in 2020 at the Nurburgring and Spa. This weekend's German classic offers the DTM newcomer a chance of another unique double to add to its growing collection of accolades