YouTuber Mat Armstrong’s Ferrari 296 GTB project is one of the most ambitious salvage rebuilds on YouTube right now, even for the only man brave enough to attempt to work on crashed Bugattis, Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces. But the latest update on Armstrong’s crashed Ferrari proves just how complicated bringing a crashed supercar back to life can really be.
The car came to Mat in rough shape after a serious crash, and while getting it looking presentable again was always going to be a challenge, the bigger problem lurking underneath the bodywork has turned out to be far more stubborn.
The hybrid battery controller module appears to be blocking the car from starting altogether, and this isn’t the kind of fault you can diagnose with an OBD scanner and a YouTube tutorial. Only Ferrari can properly address it, which sets up one of the most frustrating catch-22 situations Mat has faced on the channel.
Ferrari won’t touch the car in its crashed state. So Mat does what any dedicated builder would do and gets to work making it presentable first. He sources second-hand body panels, welds them in, lays down fresh paint, and then goes a step further by fitting an absolutely wild rear wing and full body kit. The transformation is impressive to say the least, and at first glance the car looks like it belongs on a track rather than in a salvage yard. The only problem is that none of it matters if the engine won’t fire up.
When Mat finally calls Ferrari to troubleshoot the electrical issue, the conversation doesn’t go the way he hoped. Because the repair work wasn’t carried out by a Ferrari-approved bodyshop, they are not in a position to help him move forward. The door isn’t completely shut, but it certainly isn’t wide open either.
That leaves Mat weighing up two paths. He could source a second-hand hybrid battery and hope it doesn’t need coding to the car’s specific systems, which would immediately throw the project back into Ferrari’s hands. Or he could attempt to bring Ferrari around and convince them to work with him despite the non-approved repair route he took.
Either way, with the cost of the full rebuild now hanging in midair on top of the cost of buying the crashed car in the first place, the hardest part of this build is still ahead.