The Reason Why Jay Leno Will Never Own A Ferrari
Jay Leno is one of the most avid car enthusiasts on the planet, and his vast collection of rare cars is an object of envy for every petrolhead. Leno's Big Dog Garage, which is spread across hangars at the Bob Hope Airport in California's Burbank, has an active team of mechanics meticulously looking after each piece ranging from slick hypercars to vintage rides worthy of a spot under the Smithsonian's roof.
Often dubbed as the most desirable man cave in the world, Leno's garage is home to some rare classics such as the 1934 Rolls-Royce Merlin, a 1939 Lagonda V12 that was designed by WO Bentley, and a 1954 Jaguar XK120 among other vintage beauties. He also owns a one-of-a-kind Blastolene Special (aka, Tank Car) that draws power from a 2,500-lbs M47 Patton Tank engine.
Of course, Leno's garage includes its fair share of iconic speed demons, too. The horde of gas-guzzling mean machines in Leno's garage includes a 2014 McLaren P1, a 2017 Ford GT, a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, and an Audi R8 Spyder, among others. But despite driving his fair share of Ferrari cars on camera, and coming out impressed by the F50. Leno doesn't have one in his garage. It appears that the absence of a Prancing Horse in his collection has nothing to do with the quality of those cars, but the real deal-breaker for Leno is the dealership experience.
It has nothing to do with the cars
Leno recently opened up about his Ferrari non-ownership status on an episode of "Cars and Culture with Jason Stein" and revealed that it is not the sticker price of a Ferrari that turns him away, but what he says is the experience of Ferrari sales that he feels isn't customer-friendly, which puts him off. "I just never liked dealing with the dealers," Leno said.
"You're spending an extraordinary amount of money, you should be made to feel like a customer." Leno didn't go into detail about any particular unsavory experience that he had at a Ferrari dealership in the past, but he did go through some examples of pleasant incidents with rival brands like McLaren. And no, it doesn't look Leno is on the infamous Ferrari blacklist.
When it comes to owning a special Ferrari, the saying goes, "You don't choose Ferrari. Ferrari chooses you." Irrespective of how fat your wallet is or how famous you are, Ferrari chooses its customers after a ton of deliberation and whether the customer is really a Ferrari enthusiast who respects the brand's ethos. There are even rumors that you must have a certain number of Ferraris in your garage before your name is even considered for the elusive list that gets the invite to buy something like the La Ferrari.