When I first took this job, David and Jason were kind enough and trusting enough to give me near-complete autonomy, as long as I stick to the formula and hit deadlines. And I thank them for it, because it makes this job a lot more fun than if I had to run everything by them. Though the formula is cheap cars, there’s no actual price cap here. If it’s for sale on Craigslist (or Marketplace, or just about anywhere else with an ad I can link to), it’s fair game. Even if – hell, especially if – it has no business being listed for sale on Craigslist.
Yesterday’s choices stuck closely to the formula, two cheap old Toyotas with some questionable aesthetics and dubious mechanicals. I thought the Paseo’s possible oil pressure issues might kill its chances of a win, but apparently not; it took more than eighty percent of the votes. The Camry’s ratty interior and bland driving experience turned a lot more of you off than the chance of throwing a rod. Good for you.
I’d take the Paseo as well. I don’t care one way or another about the fact that it’s a convertible; it’s tiny, and has a stick, and that’s enough for me. Also, I used to work with a woman who drove a black Paseo, and I had an enormous crush on her for a time. It’s not always about the car itself; sometimes it’s about your memories of it.
When I found an F40 for sale on Craigslist, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It has to be the most expensive car I’ve ever seen listed there; it’s like finding a Van Gogh for sale in a Goodwill store. It just doesn’t fit. I knew immediately I had to feature it. But what to put up against it? Our very own Mercedes Streeter had the perfect answer: a Fiero. The two cars have more similarities than you think: both are mid-engined, with close to the same engine displacement; both have five-speed manual gearboxes; both have pop-up headlights and big-ass rear spoilers; neither one has power steering. So what makes one of them cost three hundred and forty-five times more? Let’s check them out and see.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT – $14,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.8-liter OHV V6, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Puyallup, WA
Odometer reading: 81,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Pontiac slipped the Fiero past GM’s execs by claiming it was a commuter car, but we all knew different. The first couple of years weren’t anyone’s idea of a sports car, either, but as time went on, it got better. This penultimate production year Fiero GT doesn’t quite have the handling of the last ones, but it’s a lot more fun than the original Iron Duke/four-speed version.
The Fiero’s entire drivetrain and rear suspension is just the front end of a Chevy Citation, moved to the back. The GT model is powered by a “High Output” version of GM’s corporate 2.8-liter V6, sending 140 horsepower through the better-than-you-think Getrag 282 five-speed manual. It still won’t set the world on fire, but it will snap-oversteer with the best of them. This Fiero has only 81,000 miles on it, and is “so much fun to drive,” according to the seller.
This ad has half a dozen photos of the interior, but they’re all of little details. This is the closest we get to an overall interior shot. It’s in pretty good shape, but there are a few flaws: the driver’s seat bolster is worn through, and there are some cracks in the dash. But considering it’s a thirty-eight-year-old GM interior, it looks pretty good. It has a modern touch-screen stereo, which you may or may not think is a good upgrade. The air conditioning doesn’t work; the seller, of course, claims it just needs to be recharged.
The base model Fiero kept the original notchback body design throughout the run, but starting in 1986 the GT got this fastback shape, with rear quarter windows that are exposed on both sides. It’s in great shape; the seller mentions one small paint chip on the roof, but that’s all. They also installed aftermarket LED headlights, which is unfortunate, but at least it’s easy to undo.
1990 Ferrari F40 – $5,000,000
Engine/drivetrain: Twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter DOHC V8, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Odometer reading: 7,000 miles
Operational status: Probably runs fine, but is probably begging for exercise
I honestly don’t quite know where to start with this thing. It’s not even really a car; it’s a celebrity. Not, you know, a Celebrity; like a real celebrity. Like Penn & Teller. And come to think of it, I didn’t know what to say when I met them, either. I’ve never seen a Ferrari F40 up close, let alone sat in one, and I imagine I’d be terrified to drive one. I remember the reviews from back in the day, and everyone said this car was a handful, untameable, not for the faint of heart. It’s the sort of car that’s best enjoyed in poster or model kit form, I think – unless you’ve got a cool five mil sitting around and really want to know what it’s like.
The F40’s engine, visible from the outside under this iconic louvered Lexan rear window, is part of the car’s design. It’s so cool-looking that its performance is almost irrelevant – except that nearly five hundred horsepower will never be irrelevant. It has the power-to-weight ratio of a bottle rocket, and absolutely no driver aids of any kind. Not that anyone has had much chance to be scared by this one; it has only moved four of the six digits on its odometer. I always think that’s a shame. Cars don’t want to sit in climate-controlled storage, even rare Ferraris. They want to be driven.
The seller of this car is not the owner; it’s being sold as part of a bankruptcy settlement. Sucks to be someone, I guess. If you can wait a month, it will be auctioned off by the court, with a starting bid of $2.6 million, or, if you have the means, you can pick it up for a buy-it-now price of five million. For that price, you’d think you would get a stereo, but no; the F40’s only soundtrack is its wailing twin-turbo V8. It does have air conditioning, however.
Outside, it’s pure sex on wheels, the final evolution of the Pininfarina design that started with the 308. It has air intakes and louvers all over, and not a one of them is only there for looks; they all do something. Its most prominent feature is that huge rear wing, of course; because of it, there’s no mistaking an F40 for anything else before or since. You could only get it in red, though a few did later get painted in different colors. It looks great in blue. But I guess a red Ferrari is kind of like “Stairway To Heaven;” yeah, it’s overdone, but it’s so damn good.
I know it’s a silly comparison, and I know it’s a moot point – none of us have five million dollars sitting around to spend on a car. But just imagine you did; would you spend it on the last Ferrari built with the old man’s blessing? And if so, would you dare drive it? Or would you be satisfied with a humble Pontiac, and spend the rest on a vacation home in Monaco?
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic vs steel reinforced plastic.
I actually owned an F40, it was, surprise surprise, a bankrupt sale job. A remarkable car, remembered forever, but, big but, near as damnit undriveable , If there is such thing as too much, an F40 is close, there is a reason why all of them are low mileage garage queens, they are terrifying to drive. The formula one car for the road sales pitch was not far off, the snag being that no one in there right mind would try to drive an F1 car on the public highway.
I saw the manual crank windows in the Ferrari and that did it for me.
Well, this was easy…an F40…in the Showdown?! Hell yeah, I’ll never turn down a chance to vote for one (even though it’s definitely not a shitbox) I still do like that Fiero too, so would buy both if I could. I’ve always loved Ferrari (outside of all the uppity rich jerk stigma) I really love the Testarossa too
If you can afford the F40, I’m sure you can also afford the Fiero.
Well yeah, it’s just here I can only vote for 1
I too was looking for the “both” button.
Functionality aside, the big difference is that one of these will go up in value, and one will go down. The one that goes up obviously costs more, but could in the future go WAY up. That’s where the value is.
Having said that, I’d probably total it and screw myself over on an investment. Fiero for me.
Is it even possible to total an F40 at this point?
People have tried. Not sure any have succeeded recently.
Actually I suspect they’ll both go up in value… at least a bit. Whether they go up enough to keep up with inflation is another story.
The F40 might have more potential upside, however all it takes is one nasty recession and the used values of luxury goods like Ferraris and classic cars can come crashing down…as what happened in the early 1990s.
If we are going into millions for a car:
1. On Craig’s List? AYFKM. Does it also say just bring cash? To a dark alley somewhere I. South LA?
2. Never meet your heroes or wall players in real life. They will
Let you down
3. Just needs a recharge means this is a shit car that someone out there might have wanted back in the day and will
Buy it because: youth.
4. Since we are Autopians and therefore weird, it should be a Pagini or vintage lancia rally car or that aero Skoda thing. Ferrari is just so mundane and yesterday.
The backwards Citation for me. Always liked how these late Fierros looked, and this one is the best spec, other than I really don’t care for red sportscars.
Just the excise tax to register the F-40 annually in Maine is ~$35K, plus $300K(!) in sales tax. That’s about what I am spending on a building a new house. Plus who knows how much in insurance and deferred maintenance costs.
Too rich for my blood, by rather a lot. And I don’t like billionaire’s codpieces to start with.
“Neither” day for me here. Conservatively invested, $5M will yield 1-2 Fieros a month, and a Vespa with a Halliburton fulla Benjamins on the back would be a more enjoyable ride than either of those for me.
I know I wouldn’t be able to enjoy driving a car that costs more than literally everything I have ever owned combined, so I guess it’s the Fiero for me.
It may be overpriced, but that’s actually a pretty nice Fiero.
If I remember correctly, front suspension on the Fiero was from the Chevette! More parts bin engineering. But I have some timers. Correct me if I’m wrong. And as long as we’re using Monopoly money, F40 all the way.
The interior of that Ferarri looks like they had a boat company design and build it. I can think of at least 5 million other things I could spend that kind of money on versus a stupid car that sound difficult to drive.
In the impossible case that I have so much money that I can use 5M for a car, I’d get the F40. Not my favorite Ferrari, by large, but the road to my summer house is perfect for stretching its legs.
I’d need to smooth out the entrance of the car port, though.
My vote goes to the Fiero over the F40 (which I can also totally afford) because the Fiero has more trunk space.
And I cannot live without that trunk space.
And I thought GM made bad interiors back then…..
The horrible interior is part of what makes the F40 so great. It’s raw power and nothing else.
Yeah. I’m pretty shocked the F40 has pretty much a kit car dashboard. I am find with simple and functional. The original Porsche 911 had a simple and elegant dashboard. But the F40 just has a crude, low effort dashboard.
I wouldn’t call the dashboard on old Porsche 911s ‘elegant’. I’d say they’re ‘functional’.
And that’s how sports cars used to be.
My eyes first locked on the Ferrari (of course) and my reaction was, “Damn, that’s overpriced.” Then my eyes found the Fiero and that somehow seems even more overpriced for what it is. Since it’s internet money, I’m going Prancing Pony.
No brainer. Fiero plus the house in Monaco. Your neighbor will probably let you borrow THEIR F40.
First off, $5M for an F40 makes more sense than $14K for a Fiero that’s not an ’88 GT (although waiting for the Ferrari to go to auction makes more sense than either). Second, I’ve desperately wanted to at least sit in an F40 ever since watching Jean Alesi wrestle one around Laguna Seca in an IMSA race in ’89. It was clearly a handful and I’d have to hire someone who actually knew how to drive such a thing to teach me how to even begin to drive it. But if I have $5M to spend on a car then I can spend a lot on a pro instructor and a trailer to get the car to a track and live out my Walter Mitty fantasies.
Don’t forget. It’s going up for auction! Maybe the buyer will get it for a million less $! LMAO
What he said…
I don’t know what I expected the F40 interior to look like but ‘built by Jimbo in his backyard shed’ sure wasn’t it.
Yeah, that’s how a lot of the “hero” cars seem to me. Beautiful outsides and then like completely forgot needed a place for the driver.
You’ll be too busy holding on to the steering wheel and trying to keep it going straight when you have to go pedal to the floor to notice the interior.
These were built with light weight in mind. If you look closely at the floor, you’ll see it’s just naked carbon fiber. No carpets or any sound insulation in this bad boy, that would have been unnecessary extra weight. Notice it doesn’t even have a radio either.
The AC seems like the only nod to driver comfort.
The Lotus Elise also has a minimalist interior and dashboard, but nobody ever said the Lotus Elise’s dashboard looks like it was built by Uncle Jimbo in his backyard.
The F40 isn’t a daily driver, Ferrari purposely stripped it down to nothing, IIRC is doesn’t even have interior door pulls. It weighs less than the Fiero.