Ferrari has a habit of gatekeeping who can buy its cars—but Jay Leno never played that game. He’s blacklisted Ferrari, refusing to buy one after bad experiences with pushy dealerships and ridiculous exclusivity rules. But somehow, the comedian-turned-collector still ended up behind the wheel of a Ferrari-powered Jeep. That’s the magic of the Jerrari, a bonkers 1970s mashup built by a Nevada casino mogul. And as Leno proves in his latest test drive, this oddball creation might be more fun than some of Ferrari’s own supercars.

Bill Harrah built a Ferrari SUV before Maranello did—with a Jeep

Back in the 1970s, Bill Harrah—a casino mogul and legendary car collector—wanted an all-wheel-drive Ferrari to handle Tahoe winters. He asked Enzo Ferrari to build one. Ferrari refused. So Harrah did the next best thing: He built his own.

“He was also the Ferrari dealer and the Jeep dealer in Nevada,” Jay Leno explained.

When a Ferrari salesman wrecked a 365 GT, Harrah saw an opportunity. “Take the engine out, send it over to the shop, and put it in the Jeep,” he told his team. The result was the Jerrari 1—a Jeep Wagoneer stuffed with a Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 V12 and sporting a Ferrari nose.

Why bother shoehorning a V12 into a Jeep? “Remember, there were no speed limits,” Leno added. This thing could haul!

“It just looked weird,” Leno admitted. So Harrah built Jerrari 2—same Ferrari heart, full Jeep bodywork.

The Jerrari was built for speed (and snow)

Harrah needed to get VIP guests from the Reno airport to his Tahoe casino—fast.

“A gentleman came up and tried to sell Bill a helicopter,” Leno recounted. “Harrah bet the guy he could beat him to Tahoe in his old Wagoneer.” Spoiler: The helicopter lost.

Jay Leno put the Jerrari to the test and quickly understood the appeal. “It has all the right noises,” he said as he mashed the throttle. “It gets people’s attention.”

Jay Leno drives the only Ferrari (ahem, Jeep) he actually wants

Leno has zero Ferraris in his collection. Not because Ferrari blacklisted him—because he blacklisted them. He admits the company makes a great supercar. “I just never liked dealing with the dealers,” Leno has said.

But the Jerrari? That’s different. It’s Ferrari power without Ferrari attitude.

Harrah asked Ferrari for a four-wheel-drive sports car, and Ferrari said no. So he built his own. Decades later, Jay Leno, who refuses to buy a Ferrari because of its customer service issues, took it for a spin and got all the Ferrari fun—without the Ferrari headache. When Ferrari shuts a door–or shuts down the idea of a four-door, 4WD–someone with enough money and creativity just rips the engine out and builds their own.

Check out Leno’s full Jerrari test drive in the video below: