Queen's Verdict
Ferrari 296 GTS: the open-air aria
The court paid a call on Ferrari Sydney and found a red 296 GTS waiting with her roof already down. Six cylinders, a hybrid heart, and very nearly a full set of crowns.
Mon 20 July 2026 · Queen of Cars
“A hybrid V6 that behaves like a coronation in progress - four crowns on the spot, the fifth reserved for open road.”
An Audience at Ferrari Sydney
The court does not usually gasp indoors, but exceptions were made. There she sat at the Ferrari Sydney showroom: a 296 GTS in red, roof already folded away as if she knew company was coming, holding a small private levee in a room full of other Ferraris. That is the detail worth savouring - even surrounded by her own family, she was the one every eye kept drifting back to. The founder's camera came out before the pleasantries did.
The Case for Six Cylinders
Traditionalists raise an eyebrow at a V6 Ferrari, and Maranello has responded by making the eyebrow irrelevant. Twin turbos, an electric motor whispering encouragement, and roughly 830cv combined - a figure that reads less like a specification and more like a dare. She can slip out of your street in near silence on electric power alone, then clear her throat somewhere past the harbour and quietly rearrange your understanding of the word brisk.
And because this is the GTS, the folding hardtop removes the ceiling from the equation entirely. Roof stowed, that high-singing V6 performs directly to the stalls, a soundtrack that has already earned the little engine flattering comparisons to units with twice her cylinder count. The price, naturally, is serious money, the sort you discuss with a banker who knows your first name. But nobody walks into Ferrari Sydney expecting a bargain. They walk in expecting a coronation.
The Crowns
Four crowns, awarded on the spot and without deliberation. The 296 GTS is gorgeous, wickedly clever, and gracious enough to be driven gently or ferociously depending on your mood and the state of your licence. So why not the full five? Because the fifth crown is never handed out indoors. The fourth was earned the instant that roof folded away; the fifth waits, patiently and with perfect manners, until the court has heard that V6 sing on an open road rather than a showroom floor. Consider it less a crown withheld and more a standing invitation - one the court fully intends to accept.
Come as you are, Your Majesty; she will see to the leaving.
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