Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Revv up and go fort
There couldn’t have been a more fitting starting point for the Ferrari Rajasthan Tour than Jaipur’s Rambagh Palace. Once home to royalty, it now played host to a different kind of nobility — 26 Ferraris gleaming under the morning sun.
The Ferrari Rajasthan Tour, organised and curated by Ferrari Mumbai, brought together owners from all over the country to do what they love most: Drive and drive fast!
Conversations from the previous evening at a grand, nine-course dinner carried the unmistakable buzz of shared enthusiasm and excitement at the prospect of enjoying Rajasthan at its finest (and fastest!) behind the wheel of their Ferraris.
The first leg to Udaipur spanned over 400km of largely empty, well surfaced roads, the kind that remind you why Rajasthan remains one of India’s best driving states. Few sights stir the senses quite like a convoy of Ferraris stretching into the horizon, the soundscapes alternating between the crisp bark of a V8, the growl of a V6 hybrid, and the tenor of a naturally aspirated V12 engine.
The 296 GTS would be my drive for much of the route, and what struck me immediately is just how approachable this car is. Its 830hp might sound intimidating on paper, but the hybrid system and chassis electronics work with remarkable cohesion. The 296 has a performance that’s both ferocious and friendly, devastatingly quick when you want it to be, yet capable of gliding silently in EV mode through city traffic. The steering remains typically Ferrari — hyper alert, perhaps too quick off-centre for some tastes — but the reward is a precision that few cars match.
The 296 isn’t your everyday cruiser. It forces you to be focused on the road, and if you have a passenger, you won’t be able to chat with them.
Peeling off the highway and onto narrow roads leading to Sangam Farms, our lunch stop, revealed the 296 GTS weakness, low ground clearance, with a couple of agonising scrapes on speed breakers. The nose lift function, which gives you an extra few centimeters, is a ₹10 lakh option but it’s really an essential.
For highway cruising, the front-engined Roma and the glorious 12Cilindri, both of which I also drove, felt more relaxing. However, their characteristic long noses aren’t always ideal for the unexpected city hazards, especially when unruly bikers cut in front of you.
In Udaipur, behind the wheel of an F8 Tributo, the difference in ride quality compared with the 488 GTB from the previous day was apparent; more compliance and more refinement.
Driving up the ramparts of City Palace — normally out of bounds for vehicles — was a moment to savour. A row of Ferraris parked against centuries-old stone walls felt symbolic: Engineering modernity meeting regal heritage.
Switching back to the 296 reaffirmed its broad ability — a car that can thrill on the highways yet ease through bumper-to-bumper traffic in full-electric mode.
Three days in Rajasthan, multiple Ferraris driven, countless stories exchanged, but one constant unites enthusiasts on this high-speed jamboree. And that is their love for cars and their love for driving.
From HT Brunch, October 25, 2025
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