Ferrari picked the Hungaroring paddock to drop its latest toy for the ultra-wealthy who already own several toys. During Ferrari Racing Days in Budapest, the marque pulled the digital wraps off the 296 GT Modificata. “Modificata” is Ferrari-speak for a car that has been let off its leash. The badge dates back to the 512 M of 1970 and has resurfaced sporadically since, most recently on the 488 GT Modificata of 2020 and the 499P Modificata in 2023. Each one takes a race car, strips away the rulebook, and lets the engineers go wild. The 296 version answers that question by starting with the 296 GT3 Evo and removing every restriction the FIA and Balance of Performance ever imposed on it.
That means the 3.0-liter twin turbo V6 finally gets to sing. Ferrari has junked the hybrid system entirely here, so there’s no electric motor, no battery, just a revised crank, new camshafts, reworked intake and turbochargers, and a bespoke exhaust. The result is a claimed 720hp at 7,500rpm, a jump of roughly 130hp over the regulation strangled GT3 Evo. Ferrari claims it will lap Fiorano about three seconds faster than that GT3 car, which is not a small number to find at a track that punishes every ounce and every horsepower.
New 400mm front discs, adjustable ABS, a bigger rear wing with endplates borrowed from the 499P, and a dry weight of roughly 2,932 lbs round out the package. It still seats two, oddly enough, with a passenger footrest and intercom, presumably so your instructor can guide you to the perfect hotlap, or so you can hear your passenger swear in disbelief.
Because ownership isn’t just about the car. Buying in gets you a membership to the Club Competizioni GT programme, Ferrari’s invite-only, non-competitive track series, and the purchase price bundles in two years or 12 complimentary track day rounds at world-renowned racetracks, like Jerez, Misano, Fuji, Indianapolis, Paul Ricard and Spa.
Stack the 296 Modificata against the road going 296 GTB and the picture flips. The GTB’s plug-in hybrid V6 makes a combined 818hp and hits 62mph in 2.9 seconds, all while being homologated, emissions compliant and legal to drive on the road. It also carries around 3,241 to 3,395 pounds depending on spec, noticeably heavier than its track-only sibling. The Modificata trades that hybrid boost and road manners for weight savings and freedom from compliance, the classic race car trade-off in reverse.
None of this will come cheap, of course. The 488 GT Modificata launched in 2020 at an unconfirmed but widely reported figure just north of a million dollars, built in a run of about 25 cars. Good luck finding one now, since surviving examples routinely trade well above that through specialist brokers. The 296 version will likely follow the same script, for people who consider a garage full of Ferraris merely a starting point.
