Ferrari’s new 296 GT3 Evo is here: who upset it?

After two years of campaigning its 296 GT3 and LMGT3 racers, Ferrari has announced this new ‘Evo’ replacement set to debut in the 2026 season. And no, we aren’t sure what it’s upset about either, given the current car is already quite successful.

Key changes for the Evo include revised aero, helping the car to be “even more competitive in all conditions”. The six-speed sequential transmission has also been tweaked to offer better torque delivery at both low and high speeds.

Outputs are confirmed to be the same, peaking at 600bhp/524lb ft. Compared to the road car, the twin-turbo V6 is mounted slightly further forward, reducing the centre of gravity and providing greater torsional rigidity.

It’s also angled ever so slightly to allow room for that ferocious rear diffuser, which works in tandem with the equally scary front splitter and various new inlet channels to hunker the Evo down with more urge.

The front is more profiled than the current 296 GT3 for better stability during slipstreaming, while the wheel arch louvres have been recast to deal more effectively with dirty air. The bonnet intakes have also been tweaked to deliver 20 per cent more airflow to the brakes to help with cooling.

This is precisely the sort of obsessive engineering that’s helped the 296 to claim, at the time of writing, 140 wins from 343 races (amounting to five titles). That includes success at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. So we ask again, 296: what on earth are you so salty about?