1990 Ferrari F40 - Jay Leno's Garage

one episode of Jay Leno's Garage today one of the most desirable cars of all time the 1990 Ferrari f40 this was the last car blessed by Enzo Ferrari you know Enzo got a little testy during the eighties customers complained that Ferraris are getting kind of soft and too comfortable and he wanted to build a machine that was just an out-and-out racing car for the street a car to compete with the 959 Porsche which was coming out about the same time a Spartan car which was just about nothing but performance no leather trim none of that just something was about going fast and handling and being the ultimate Ferrari and I think it was the first car I believe to be certified at over 200 miles an hour the first actual Road car that would go 200 because the Countach is and everything else at that period they go to 188 193 but this is the first one which actually went over 200 miles an hour this one belongs to a good friend David Lee he's been kind enough to bring other Ferraris here David come on in good to see you my friend welcome back Thank You Jay this is the car that really does it for a lot of Ferrari guys you know this is the the last Enzo blessed ultimate performance car and it was built to be the ultimate performance car the late 80s and early 90s what 87 was the first one yes yes right and they went to what about nine ninety-two of 92 okay ultimately they were going to build I think only 400 of these but they wanted a building with 13 13 11 13 11 okay okay which is unusual Ferrari because I mean to build twice as many cars almost three times as many cars as they said they were gonna build right that's interesting did they not think there would be the demand for one well the like you said the previous ones were like two something three something right and even after there was like 273 this particular one I guess like you said Enzo was last bless he wanted one that that more people can drive and we're gonna have so I maybe made the call and it's hard to believe this car is 27 years this car sold at the time for the unheard of price of $400,000 but to buy it now when you buy a car like this now you to buy you can either have the car or you get socks most ferrari guys have no but this is like one of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen yeah it's really good quality one it's these I saw this kind of quality is fetching anywhere from 1/8 to 2 million right now yeah yeah and you know it's interesting because the build quality of Ferrari back at this period was not that good I mean the engines transmissions I was the powertrain all that was fantastic but you know when Honda built the NSX their idea was to build a car with Honda reliability and supercar performance because back in the 80s and 90s reliability they didn't you know you just wanted that car you making now people won't sit for that anywhere Ferrari now comes with what a 7 year 7 year warranty maybe it's safe to say started the real collector crazy cuz that's a Ferrari died all of these ones just this is the last one he what's it like to own is it more than you thought is it exciting you know it's it's it's everything that everybody says you know it drives even nowadays you know we all have the the new performance cars this one still drives really exciting and it's still you know and you have to keep your attention on it because it doesn't have all the computers to help you you're it's really you in the car and then you know I I have lucky to have an air conditioning because there's obviously nothing else does no guv compartment no radio yes it was it was but I so you need that but everything else does you know you have to roll the windows there's no door handle so yeah they made it to try to that three thousand pound don't gotta keep it like that but I know when they originally came out they were like 2500 yeah mm-hmm because you didn't have glass here these right that the dopey sliding plasty away I think a little too much the lexan window yeah you gotta have and it's classic Ferrari in that the chassis is nothing special it's a tube type remember Gordon Murray the famous race car designer kind of complaining that with exception of the engine and the powertrain the technology of the chassis was just old-school Ferrari you know the way they always build up so it's kind of the last of that era with a proper and of course there's nothing more beautiful than the gated Ferrari that's fun I mean to me that really makes yeah yeah that's like the favorite part yeah and it shows you how far we've come in 26 27 years this car did 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds where at the time was a record but I'm either going that fast now or now we're in the mid twos right these new Ferrari yeah but still this nothing is visceral mm-hmm as this cars so like we have a 2.9 liter v8 with twin turbos yeah right and we're making what 478 and horsepower yes that's right okay that's right movin movin oh maybe a shade less than 3,000 pounds that's pretty quick and nobody had a window like this yeah the lexan window and this is a very clear one too but usually it turns yellow but yeah this is nobody had that to get the heat out of it exactly yeah yeah but I used to read that people could drive for about an hour and go okay that's it it's a lot of work exactly yeah but it's you know this car is just it's really special you know it the way that Pininfarina designed it it looks like it's going 200 miles standing still exactly they had the carbon fiber Kevlar and to do the chassis and in the tub so you know just it's really a fantastic 90 technology-wise was a long time ago right I mean it really is when you think about it I mean if my age doesn't seem that long ago but it really is because Kevlar was just coming in there was no telemetry to computers talking to one another and I have to admit I always loved a non airbag steering wheel I know it's not as safe but it just sex you're looking with the Ferrari in the middle there and nothing in the car you don't need there's no sound deadening I mean Ferrari went to the limit to make this way as little as possible can we open it up a little bit sure sure it's open the front first and see okay and these are keyed I see so yep so nobody can rip popular yeah whatever is this in there and there's no spare tire there's no jack right no no okay actually pretty good size luggage compartment compared to some of the modern supercars it looks small now but my McLaren maybe you got a pack of cigarettes in there but pretty clean up front look I mean nowadays you'd be packed with all sorts of computers and all that I mean but pretty clean you got your radiator there with your twin twin cooling fans no wrecking pinion right wishbone suspension and of course this is before there were carbon ceramic brakes or anymore right there's still rotors yes mm-hmm which actually worked well sure yes especially for street use mm-hmm I don't think many people actually race these did they this built this yeah yeah let's take a look at the engine compartment will lift up here stop here it's a little heavy but see there's a lot of work day oh it's a two-piece yeah like those camping dings okay okay Wow yeah there you go that's it don't want to open down on a windy day oh my god that's pretty yeah yeah two hinges there yeah now I don't recognize this exhaust system yeah so so that's the two bigs also Ferrari had a thing where of course they have the standard and then and then you can had an option to put a too big sauce which makes the sound better and a little bit worse that's our steel yeah stainless steel so it would normally be in this material that's kind then but of course the shiny exhaust is the yeah to behave your inner cool is there mm-hmm and it's a v8 v8 twin turbo which they did in this of course in this area right about 87 to 92 but in the production car just started coming out with the twin turbos so it's 2.9 liter so not a huge motor by America right my Italian stand is a European a big engine not quite three liters right and to get 470 horsepower from that it's really amazing and when those turn and there's no traction control there's no ABS in the end of it yeah nope bill you know it's so funny everybody talks about the f1 McLaren know I had no driver this has no driver aids yeah oh these you are coolest yep these I see all colors in the back okay very cool and and somehow the the but like everything is balanced it's really well balanced and and and when you drive it it just all comes together very exciting and that's your oil for your you can put gas on both sides oh you have two tanks okay and they're just a joint either side so when the wife takes us to market amazing and of course there's no hydraulic lifts or any other under that yeah this is a long time ago you know but you know it's still an exciting design that looks it doesn't look dated at all you know come out with this tomorrow and people think it was a new vehicle you know so 1990 what were you doing Jay at that time 1990 I was still guest hosting the Tonight Show and I had just bought my building here the garage and I was starting to put some cars in it so that was just about when I was getting started but it seems like just the other day to me I mean if you're 30 years old it seems like a hundred years ago waiting for my age it just seems like well I've watched this shirt transaxle down here boy it's just it's really a really work of art and this was the ultimate Ferrari when it came out yeah and for many enthusiasts it still is it's the last of the visceral yep you know end zone none of that fancy stuff you know yeah exception of the air conditioning which was a huge deal you know radio and it's noisy in this car in it mm-hmm yeah the sound which which was what we like as all the cars now don't have sounds you know do you remember that the the kind of the view between this car and in the five nine five nine the Porsche had the Porsche yeah I remember this was sort of Ferraris answer to the night Friday night the 99 was almost exact opposite of this a technical wonder or a nightshirt ending on your four-wheel-drive all sorts of computers talking to one another I mean it was a it was a technical tour de force when it came out it was the most technical car complicated car ever and this was almost the simplest car and the exception to turbochargers it's just there's nothing tricky reporting and when the turbos kick in on this boom it yeah fun very cool very cool I think it's about time we got some socks then you key all the way around like that no that's my first step 40 all right very visceral makes all the right noises Wow when the turbo kicks in you really feel it okay I only got about half a mile but I'm starting to get it already yeah very visceral and very very connected and the light you know there's nothing like taking Wade out of a vehicle to just you know all the electronic aids in the world are great but if nothing beats lightweight it's very nimble right you can get hurt and you feel a turbo start to come on if Ferrari built a Cobra this is what it would be yeah this is almost like an Italian version of a Cobra in the sense it's big engine with a lot of power and a lightweight frame with no driver aids or assist at any kind you know it's so funny I remember reading the road test of the period Car and Driver and they would say off to an hour or so the car would beat you up or you feel tired but I like that experience maybe I just like to get slapped around but I I mean I like a car that makes me work a little bit and do a little bit of you know it's this thing it says this is the most Ferrari like car I've ever driven there's no radio because you got to listen to the motor you know you wait for that turbo to kick in and you feel like woosh and it's very linear it's nice it doesn't it's not like a the early Porsche Turbo doesn't think it's out of control it's just a surge of power yeah it's really something very very nice Wow I'm glad you like it oh yeah I love this this is unbelievable and it just well I like it you drive the car the car doesn't drive unit we have so many modern cars to get in and everything takes over and just kind of hold on you know thank you where's this one you know use just skilled properly you better cratchit you're going to run it on yeah you know it's not for the hoser you know it looks a real driver's car even you can then you can multitask nerves you know to a good coffee tickle you on this one you got to be hundred percent you can't plug in your phone you can't know you really have to use some foot pressure to slow her down so you know Pirelli PZero of one ride he's made with this car what was that right also before it was anything was the you know they made it is for this car and then of course it turned out to be a very important line for them but this was the file Nadia Dino 246 GTS and it's a beautiful car but it was always under power right so so I find an outfit in the UK he's an engineer and he's a body I'm gonna chop a shop that he did ten years ago where he took a dino and put a 328 engine in there Wow use 360 parts so what I now it's been 10 years he had them you know he said the new technology of understanding he's building me I'm shipping the car there he's building me a 400-horsepower 328 and - hisses 300 - 400 and then you using like the 360 of the Aventa brakes new kind of Wow we succeed drug trends also and in the wheels we got a mint we're die caster wheels to be bigger like the state ones or bigger going to be really powerful wow that is problem so but all Ferrari parts and that should be done in six months I gotta show you that car that'll be amazing it's a hot rod up and you know something that a lot of people gonna say you're amazing in the English you can do it in six months that'll be really yeah that they like to take their time like the thing good idea now I love that gated shifter there we go the Monica's is so much better than you are where's this car this car is as good as you are and can make you better I mean like even the p1 or the 918 for sure the laferrari it can do all that stuff without you in it almost yeah you know is this what needs you it needs you to work everything and do it properly just the fun of moodiness this gated shifter when it engages you know it feels like the gears in a clock they all come together nicely you know I don't find it that noisy in this car I'm having a conversation well the Ferrari prides themselves on the sound and the engine makes yeah and it's like a high-pitched kind of sound so you know whatever complaints anybody ever had about Freud does it be able to drive this talk could you go oh my god this is what it's all about I remember back when it came out Gordon Mary Sona complained that the technology of the design especially the chassis was not particularly modern or up-to-date but that's okay yeah I mean it feels fine to me it's certainly way better than anything I can do I mean it feel strong doesn't feel like it flexes maybe it does at the limit but if you don't taking to the Scots and living on the streets you're already dead you know and everyone knows third white people buy these cards that are less involving the more involving it is the better you know while Porsches come back to manual transmissions on a limited basis I would love to see Ferrari and McLaren and Lamborghini do it too for the real enthusiasm likes to drive and likes to move the gears by hand yeah I think they're gonna they might consider maybe especially here you say that so there's a story of that on there so you know after 288 GTO right and that was in 1985 and then and then they develop because fear wanted to do this group be racing and they develop so they Ferrari developed this prototype 288 GTO evolution which is super lightweight it's uh it's like 2,000 pounds with 650 horsepower and then they they ended up canceling that canceling that race because it was too dangerous and so Enzo was left with these five prototypes what I'm gonna do again that was up 1886 and then it really then with that idea they want Enzo wanted to use that technology develop a the best road car we have course to him it's the f40 and and and so so that technology came in so in 87 they developed the important so you can just kind of see yeah how that happened the best cars have always been one man's vision whether it was the Duesenberg brothers whether it's Henry Ford or the Model T whether it was Packard with the v12 you know package v12 was what gave Ferrari the inspiration to do his feet 12 did you know that no and he was so impressed with that early pre-world War one Packard 12 yeah that was the engine that really impressed him you know he wanted to make his even though they were small displacement under 2-liter there would be 12 that they were smooth like the backer and you know a lot of cars like this feel too big for the road this doesn't feel too big for a nice two lane road like this even though it's a wide car is this much wider than a Porsche Turbo it's about the same size I think it's a little wider and it looks beautiful going down the road oh it just has such a nice guttural howl you know it's really but I like that exhaust it's on there yeah and this is a car that you'll still be able to repair in 25 years or 30 years because I'm sure I'd have some computer Diagnostics but yeah but I mean it's it's still basically the last of the old school you know I mean that's what I love this is my favorite Ferrari so far a beautiful operative or what alright okay saying this is his favorite Ferrari by far I'm so glad that I gave him that oh yeah this really to go you know the real test to me it's fun to drive at normal speeds I'm not I'm not bored driving a horrific leave a scar on a two-lane road in 50 to 60 miles an hour you know glad to get swiftly it's great fun you're moving the gearbox around you get the engine to make the sounds or you want it not what it wants it late you know that's what's really wonderful hey that's a new idea Jay why don't we make it a lot of car companies make a car that we can control yeah well you know so many people now don't want to drive a stick some people want to use a car for everyday purposes I mean this is a perfect this is a car you go out and you have fun and you go in a big circle then you go back in the garage right you now go to a restaurant you go to a club yeah I was talking a lot young people and you know they've been successful in there you know they want to buy cars and and they have no idea how to drive a stick shift yeah yeah no idea you know understand it they don't know why so great and yeah it's interesting when you haven't have 40 I just have to blow past a camera car and then wait from the show up boy this really has the feel in the spirit of the 60 Ferraris in 1960's Friday the 275 gtb all that whether it's the gear shift leave or whatever yet with somewhat modern technology the twin turbos and the v8 I mean it's really uh this is my favorite Ferrari I've ever driven so far it's really really impressive this is the last model of the v8 turbos and then after that it went to meet well yeah but you know if somebody didn't know if you told somebody is for the v12 I don't think they they would know it's so smooth and it's so powerful yeah so turbine like it's just a beautiful beautiful engine and it's so amazing that it's less than three liters that's that's what's unbelievable around all of that let's go looking for portion so you're looking for prey like night yeah yeah it just showed your competition makes everybody better you know I mean the best thing that the Ferrari was McLaren made them you know put their nose to the grindstone and do the laferrari because they didn't know what the p1 was gonna be so they had to built that's why I like Ferrari always built the ultimate of whatever it is they're trying to build was the cool thing happening with Ferrari he's up dude there's a sudden effort well to Italy France right lessor new kind of run engine v12 so I'm doing this thing called a Taylor Bay which is kind of a I wonder calling a lot Taylor Made there was a LeMay program and they're making it up inspired by my 250 little competition so it's gonna be like a twin car like a modern car with the well you know that looks likely okay I'm going to take a look at the air conditioning you know it wouldn't have a soul of didn't have a little bit of a problem but I must say this is the most exciting Ferrari I've ever driven I hope we got a chance to convey to you how exciting this car is to drive I realize most people that watch these videos are never even seen one of these let alone driven one so I hope I was able to convey how exciting it was how visceral it was I mean it has this sort of it's quiet it's smooth then it has this all kind of temperament when you put your foot in it literally takes off and explodes but it feels like a real car you know Enzo really didn't care about road cars he was a race car guy and fizz his last car out the door was this one and he wanted to be the ultimate Ferrari at age 90 so god bless him that's pretty amazing so we're gonna fix the air-conditioning and he'll drive at home a nice cool comfort well I sweat my head off thank you for the guest to join oh yeah yeah

Channel: Jay Leno's Garage

Views: 2,462,951

Keywords: ferrari, f40, jay, leno, david, lee, enzo, legendary, Jay Leno, Jay Leno's Garage, car reviews, compares cars, classic cars, vintage cars, sports cars, super cars, cars, car gear, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Camaro Z28, jay leno garage, jay lenos garage, car collection, cnbc, episode, motorcycle, ford, corvette, tour, dodge, lexus

Id: TPYPmsnm44Q

Length: 27min 24sec (1644 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 13 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/newtonreddits]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy

[u/MotorboatingSofaB]

The amount he spent on detailing that car is worth more than my car. God damn it is beautiful.

[u/coolsexguy420boner]

That car has more presence than any other car i've ever seen. when they were getting those rolling shots of it on the highway next to minivans and semis it looked almost like they were driving a space ship. I don't think a Ferrari has looked that good until the F12 came out (personal opinion)

[u/[deleted]]

Wow, Ferrari comes with a 7-year warranty these days.

[u/YouMake]

The F40 is timeless, now I just gotta figure out how to afford one :(.

[u/[deleted]]

Sorry, I just can't tolerate a Ferrari that has forced induction, it's not a "real" Ferrari. /s

[u/K3R3G3]

How come if this was Matt Farah, it'd be at 1500+ upvotes and people would be going nuts in the comments, but Jay Leno does it and it has 60 upvotes and 20 comments in 11hrs?

[u/GiveMeAMuffin]

Monday Morning officially improved.

[u/menasan]

Jay always seems tired when hes doing the interview part -

also i've decided I want that color and gloss on my garage floor - thanks Jay