There was a time when a “hybrid” was a European car with an American V8 under the hood. Examples include the Ford-powered De Tomaso Pantera and the Jensen Interceptor with its Chrysler powerplant. The “Jerrari” that recently rolled into “Jay Leno’s Garage” is the complete opposite of that idea: an American vehicle with a European engine. But not just any, as this unusual machine has the V12 out of a Ferrari.
Phil McDougall, president of the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, explains the oddity’s origins. Hotel and casino magnate Bill Harrah wanted a quick way of transporting entertainers between his Lake Tahoe and Reno establishments. He commissioned the Jerrari, a combination of a Jeep Wagoneer and a Ferrari V12.
Actually, he commissioned two. The one McDougall brings to show Leno is the second one: a 1977 Jeep Wagoneer with a Ferrari 365’s 4.4-liter V12 under the hood. Fitting the engine up front required extending the nose 2.5 inches, but the people behind the build were able to pair the Italian power plant with the SJ’s Quadra-Trac four-wheel drive system. They also added on some extras, including headlight wipers and a radar detector – not a bad idea for a driver who regularly took this creation up to 140 mph and had to blow past everyone he saw on the road.
Hellcat-swapped Jeeps may be cool, but there are several out there. None of them will ever be as cool or as rare as the Jerrari. I’m sure Harrah would appreciate me saying that you can bet on that.
