Jay Leno Prefers 21-Year-Old Ferrari 550 Barchetta To All-New SF90

The main reason for this claim is because of the F133 A/C naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V12 that sits under the lengthy hood. By today's standards, this powertrain's output of 478 horsepower (485 PS) and 420 lb-ft of torque is still impressive, despite it being close to half than that of the Ferrari 812 Superfast. This is delivered to the rear wheels exclusively via a gated six-speed manual transmission.

The key feature of the Barchetta was its manually folding roof. Although they don't show how the feature works, Cohen explains that it is a pain to cover the top so he leaves it off most of the time. However, with a large trunk and generous interior space, it's apparently a pretty practical car that has been used for weekend getaways.

While behind the wheel, Leno explains to Cohen that theFerrari SF90 Stradalewhich hehad on the shownot too long ago has more impressive performance characteristics, but he much rather enjoys being behind the wheel of this almost retro open-top GT. The reason for this is that it is a more challenging and engaging car to drive both at both high and low speeds.

At the moment, the 550 Maranello and Barchetta are models that don't get a lot of attention in the classic scene compared to thelikes of the Ferrari F50, for obvious reasons. Last year's auction ofRichard Hammond's old hard-top modelproved that the range may be slightly undervalued. In his closing statements, however, Cohen states that this is starting to change because it is one of the very few front-engine V12 products you can buy with a gated six-speed shifter from this era.