A 3-litre V6 racer built to GT3 rules, from its 2023 debut through the 2026 Evo, with wins at Daytona, Nurburgring and Spa.
The Ferrari 296 GT3 is a GT3-rules racing car based on the 296 GTB road car. It debuted in January 2023 at the 24 Hours of Daytona, uses a 3-litre V6 making about 600 CV, and replaced the 488 GT3 and 488 GTE in GT racing.
The Ferrari 296 GT3 is the racing version of the 296 GTB road car, built to GT3 rules and used from 2023 in place of the 488 GT3 and 488 GTE. Its 3-litre V6 is derived from the road engine, but the race car drops the plug-in hybrid system.
The 296 GT3 reached 100 wins, 24 of them overall victories and 76 in class. Its first major trophy came at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2023, and its first championship title arrived in the GT World Challenge Europe endurance series in 2024.
Where did the 296 GT3 come from?
Ferrari designed the car at Maranello under a team led by Ferdinando Cannizzo. A specialist builder assembles it and supports customer teams. The 296 GT3 was presented at the 2022 24 Hours of Spa and made its debut in January 2023 at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Testing began at Fiorano, where a red-and-black camouflaged car went out with Alessandro Pier Guidi and Andrea Bertolini. Further tests followed at Mugello and Portimao, with Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra at the wheel.
A 3-litre V6 built for GT3 rules, with a hybrid-free racer that reached 100 wins.
What engine does the 296 GT3 use?
The 296 GT3 uses a 3-litre (183 cu in) V6 called the Ferrari F163CE. It makes about 600 CV (592 hp), derived from the road car's engine. The 488 GTE it succeeds ran a 3.9-litre (238 cu in) V8 rated at 525 CV (518 hp).
Power rises even though displacement falls, from 3.9 litres to 3 litres. The road-going 296 GTB carries a plug-in hybrid system, but the racer omits it to meet FIA homologation rules.
The first seasons, 2023 and 2024
The debut year opened with the new car's first win, in a Nurburgring NLS round in the Pro Am class for the Racing One team. Frikadelli Racing then drove the 296 to victory at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, the first win for the Italian marque. The car also made its Italian Gran Turismo Championship debut with Easy Race at the Imola sprint rounds, driven by Thomas Biagi and Riccardo Ponzio.
Other 2023 results included a win in the 3 Hours of Barcelona endurance round for AF Corse, with Nicklas Nielsen, Alessio Rovera and Robert Shwartzman, and a Pro Am class win at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring for WTM by Rinaldi Racing. The Frikadelli crew for the Nurburgring win was Earl Bamber, Nicky Catsburg, Felipe Fernandez Laser and David Pittard.
The 2024 season began with a Daytona win for Risi Competizione, a team with official support from the parent company. That year the FIA World Endurance Championship introduced the LMGT3 class, meant to replace the costly GTE cars with simpler and cheaper GT3 machinery. AF Corse fielded two 296 GT3s in the new class, with amateur drivers in the crews.
Results were modest at first, but the cars won the 6 Hours of Fuji and the 8 Hours of Bahrain with the #54 and #55 entries. Four wins followed in the European Le Mans Series, at Barcelona, Le Castellet, Spa and Mugello, taken by Formula Racing, Spirit of Race and Kessel Racing. The title was lost on the last corner of the final round at Portimao. Its first title arrived late in the year, when the 6 Hours of Jeddah, a round of the GT World Challenge Europe, went to Alessandro Pier Guidi and Alessio Rovera.
What did the 296 GT3 win in 2025?
In 2025 the 296 GT3 won the 6 Hours of Spa in the WEC LMGT3 class, its third win in that category. Kessel Racing finished a run of Bronze Cup wins by taking the 24 Hours of Spa, and the #36 car won the Pro Am class at the 12 Hours of Bathurst.
Daytona opened the year with seven 296 GT3s in GTD and one in GTD Pro. The cars were heavily penalised by the balance of performance, and the best-placed Ferrari in GTD, the #70 of Inception Racing, qualified only eighth. DragonSpeed ran an official Ferrari entry and qualified 12th in class.
At Bathurst, the Arise Racing GT car stayed in contention for the full 12 hours until Chaz Mostert, a Pro driver, had to pit for lack of fuel, and it finished fourth. The main season started in April with the European Le Mans Series. At Paul Ricard, AF Corse won the ELMS round with Lilou Wadoux among its official drivers, and Rovera, Mann and Heriau took the 6 Hours of Spa win before finishing second at Le Mans.
What has the 296 GT3 won in 2026?
The 2026 season brought a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring for AF Corse USA in the IMSA GTD class, and a European Le Mans Series LMGT3 round at Le Castellet for Kessel Racing. Selected Car Racing took the Gold class at both Monza and Portimao, and Kessel Racing won the Bronze class at Monza.
On the sprint side, AF Corse won race one at Brands Hatch with Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer, while Emil Frey Racing took race two at Zandvoort and race two at Barcelona with Thierry Vermeulen and Ben Green. At the 24 Hours of Spa, Kessel Racing took the Bronze class with Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall, Ben Tuck and Mathys Jaubert, and Rinaldi Racing won the Silver class.
GR Racing won the European Le Mans Series round at Spa with Michael Wainwright, Mex Jansen and Lorcan Hanafin. The Asian Le Mans Series round at Dubai went to Kessel Racing, and the Barber round of GT World Challenge America went to AF Corse USA with Matias Perez Companc and Frederik Schandorff.
How has the 296 GT3 performed in Asia and Japan?
The car has won Super GT's GT300 class twice, both in 2025, at the Fuji 3-hour race and the Suzuka 300 km race. Winhere Harmony Racing took GT World Challenge Asia wins in 2025, and Harmony Racing won Fuji race one in 2026.
The Asian Le Mans Series gave the car a class title for drivers and one for teams in the 2025/2026 season. At Sepang, Kessel Racing won the four-hour race in both 2024 and 2025. Okayama race one in 2025 also went to Winhere Harmony Racing, with Deng Yi and Luo Kailuo.
Did the 296 GT3 win in DTM and sprint racing?
Emil Frey Racing took nine DTM race wins with the 296 GT3 between 2023 and 2026. Jack Aitken drove six of them, and Matteo Cairoli took the other three in 2026. The DTM tally is the largest single-series total in the car's record.
Every DTM win came from Emil Frey Racing, starting at the Lausitzring in 2023 and running through Oschersleben, Zandvoort, Sachsenring and the Nurburgring. The sprint record is more modest: five GT World Challenge Europe Sprint wins, from Hockenheim in 2024 to Barcelona in 2026, with AF Corse taking Brands Hatch in 2025 and 2026.
What changed with the 296 GT3 Evo?
Ferrari announced the Evo version on 27 June 2025 at the 24 Hours of Spa, ahead of the 2026 season. It gets a new gear ratio cascade to favour torque at both low and high speeds, improved cooling with two bonnet air intakes, a new rear wing with a support structure, and redesigned side panels.
Evo-spec cars first raced at the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona. Its first win came at the next event, the 2026 12 Hours of Sebring.
The 296 Challenge
The 296 Challenge was first spotted during tests at Monza in February 2023. It was presented at the Ferrari World Finals in October of that year, and its official debut came in the Ferrari Challenge 2024.
What are the Ferrari 296 GT3 specifications?
The 296 GT3 has a 3-litre (183 cu in) V6 producing about 600 CV (592 hp) and no plug-in hybrid system. It follows GT3 technical regulations and suits races run by the ACO, IMSA and the SRO Motorsports Group. The 488 GTE it replaces had a 3.9-litre (238 cu in) V8 with 525 CV (518 hp).
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Category | GT3 technical regulations |
| Engine | 3-litre (183 cu in) V6, Ferrari F163CE |
| Power | About 600 CV (592 hp) |
| Hybrid system | None |
| Predecessor engine | 3.9-litre (238 cu in) V8, 525 CV (518 hp), in the 488 GTE |
| Debut | January 2023, 24 Hours of Daytona |
| Evo announced | 27 June 2025 |
| Evo first race | 2026 24 Hours of Daytona |
| Total wins | 100 (24 overall, 76 in class) |
Championship and class wins
Across all series, the car's tally includes eight European Le Mans Series LMGT3 wins, three IMSA GTD Pro wins, five IMSA GTD wins and six GT World Challenge Australia wins. Its headline honours include the 24 Hours of Daytona GTD Pro class in 2024 and the Macau Grand Prix GT Cup in 2025.
The Petit Le Mans GTD class went to Conquest Racing in 2024 and to AF Corse in 2025. Conquest Racing also won the Road America GTD Pro round in 2024, and Triarsi Competizione took that round's GTD class in 2025.
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