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?
Huh, both of these cars are overpriced.
Roughly 20 years ago we were visiting my wife’s cousin in southern Switzerland. The cousin’s husband was a car enthusiast who had a tidy collection in his garage. He was friends with a mechanic at the Loris Kessel Ferrari dealership in Lugano and arranged a visit to the garage wherein I was able to get up close and personal with an F40 that was getting prepped for a track day. The car has an undeniable presence, and I would absolutely love to drive one. This is apropos of nothing in particular—the memory just popped up while looking at the F40 photos.
Anyhow, if I had antique Ferrari money and wanted to buy an F40 I would wait for this to hit auction. I wouldn’t want a Fiero at all, especially not one with a broken AC, worn interior, and questionable updates priced as though it were a pristine example–so the F40 gets my vote with the caveat that I would not spend a 2m+ premium to avoid the hassle of an auction.
If I had the money for the F40, I’d just buy both. Then put a Fauxrarri body kit on the Fiero and drive it ironically.
Don’t forget to add a pair of “my other car is a ____” bumper stickers!
One of these lets me compete in the “1990 and later” category in my local car show against a bunch of Hellcats and New Edge Mustangs, the other makes me compete with Boomer judge favorites like Tri Fives and Chevelle SS.
The choice is clear.
Working a/c is a must here in Austin, and I’m not buying the “it only needs a recharge” horse-hockey. You can blow a lot of money chasing an a/c problem down.
So F40 by default. But I’ll wait for the auction to see if anyone really agrees it is worth $5M.
I know this is all theoretical. We’re supposed to pretend we have the money to spare and vote based on the cars’ merits.
Can’t do it. $5m would make such a difference to charity, community programs, or my retirement account. As much as I like a toy, I don’t think I could ever spend that much money on one. No matter how rich I was.
The ferrari won’t depreciate. Leave it in your will to 1-800-carsforchildren or something.
I don’t have the money for either, but I have a model of a F40 somewhere, but the same can’t be said about a Fiero. I love the Fiero, but the price on this one is too much for 2025, while I have the feeling the F40 will be a $5,000,000 car this decade.
Y’all are being daft.
I get the ethos here, and the showdown was deliberately set up to be absurd. And that is a fairly nice Fiero. I’ve always liked Fieros.
But we’re imagining that we actually have the $5 million. There’s plenty of F40’s sealed away. I’m not letting this be one of them.
F40 is hugely overpriced, but if I was in the market for an 80’s Ferrari, I would go with a Testarossa, even if I had F40 money. I know they probably made a bunch of them, but it’s surprising they’re still relatively attainable by vintage Ferrari standards. They’re not even that unreliable from what I’ve learned.
If I had F40 money I’d have a 288 GTO instead. Similar thing, but much much prettier.
100%
The 288 is absolutely the connoisseur’s choice. I’d still prefer a Testarossa as turbos don’t do it for me, but I’d 100% take a 288 over an F40.
I guess the Testarossa is the red-headed stepchild of vintage Ferraris.
The Fiero is *that much* and doesn’t even have working AC? No thanks.
Fiero has more buttons = my vote
I feel like the asking price for that Fiero is the kind of price you’d pay for a car that didn’t have flaws like a non-functioning AC, an aftermarket stereo, and driver status with 81K miles. Yeah, the GT with a stick is everyone’s dream Fiero (at least mine), but for something that isn’t a trailer queen the money seems to high. Or I’m just old. That happens a lot around here. Cars got more expensive and none of us want to accept it.
I’ll be the crazy guy here and vote for the bankruptcy feeding frenzy Ferrari.
By the way, mechanically, maybe the Fiero is a little similar to the Ferrari, the 4th Gen Supra was a direct rip-off of the F-40. Would have love to see that comparo.
+1
Both crackhead priced, but I voted for the Fiero.
Also, the F40 is proof that they don’t have to artificially limit production in order to protect resale/collector value. Ferrari made over 1300 of them, as opposed to the 300-range they limit the later flagships to (F50, Enzo, LaFerrari, etc)
I checked and to my surprise you are right: Compared to the examples I can find the F40 is 30 % overpriced, if not more. The Fiero probably is, too, but 30 % of that are a lot less money, so …
I’m over here thinking how I could never financially recover from blowing that much money on a car…I mean, 14k for a Fiero?!
I’ll go Fiero. It costs the same as the Ferrari’s air filter.
Even with that kind of $$ available, I’ve never been a Ferrari fan. (Now if it was a Lambo…)
“The air conditioning doesn’t work; the seller, of course, claims it just needs to be recharged.” – BECAUSE IT LEAKS. Or possibly doesn’t work at all I suppose, but if it needs recharged, there’s a reason.
If it just needs to be recharged why not just get it recharged?
Because it’s broken.
My GT86 just needed a recharge every few weeks, until I took the front off and replaced the condenser.
Every few weeks is the key there. My old car’s air conditioning slowly got slightly crappier each year until I gave up and recharged it. Since it had slowly been getting worse over a multi-year period, I figured the stopleak in the recharge bottle would take care of whatever’s going on. If not? Eh, several more years and it’ll be rusty enough to be a DT project.
I had a ’14 BRZ bought a few years ago cheap, and the AC started going hot soon after. I learned about the can/hose thing I could do in my driveway and did that 2-3 times over the summer for 2 years. Then the last time it was warm by the next day, I figured that hole got bigger.
But before I invested $$ in repairs I found a GR Corolla and was happy.
I was all set to vote F40, but then I remembered they’re not making Pontiacs anymore and that Fiero might be worth something some day.
Since were going full fantasy mode today:
If I had F40 money, I’d buy both and get myself one of those nice concourse garage spaces at M1 and put a professional driver on retainer to teach me how to drive.
The Fiero would start as my practice car, and once I was fully capable of setting stupid times in it, I’d start lapping the F40. Once I had a reasonable lap time in the F40 the tools would come out and the Fiero would start getting upgraded until It could match the lap times of the F40.
The F40 would get just enough use to stay in drivable shape and the Fiero would be my 911 embarrassment machine.
That’s a disturbingly well-thought-out plan!
I would never want a car I was afraid to drive. The F40 is arguably the greatest car ever made, but it’s not a car, it’s an investment. I’d put 100k miles on that Fiero.
I was all set to vote for the F40, but then I saw that interior shot. Holy crap, there are old bass boats with better instrument panel design and materials.
It’s a thinly-disguised race car, so you get a racing interior with just enough padding on the dash for NHTSA to have said “siiighhh…I guess”.
Granted the full roadgoing Ferraris were just the same thing swathed in fine Italian leather and with the switchgear and HVAC from a Fiat 128 thrown in.
The F40 is when I quit caring about Ferraris, the styling on it and pretty much everything else just never did it for me. Daytonas, Testarossas, 328s, Mondiales, and even Dinos I can stare at all day but modern ones do nothing for me.
I’ll take the Fiero.
I guess I’m voting for the Fiero? Even if I find the price to be much too high for a Fiero with broken air conditioning.
Even if I did have the money, I simply don’t want to be responsible for an F40; just having something like that in my possession would make me paranoid. It’s the sort of thing I’d like to admire from afar. But the Fiero is something I’d feel comfortable owning.
For my money, it’s the Porsche 959 over the 1986 RX-7.
I never really got the love for the 959.
But I did have a non-turbo ‘86 RX7, and I loved that a lot, despite the lack of power and terrible fuel consumption.
Neither, obviously. Both are overpriced. However… I don’t even have five million dollars and will never see five million dollars at once, so I guess Fiero.
Id get the Fiero just because I know I can actually work on the car myself.
Ferrari for the win with my Monopoly money. But a Fiero worth over 14 grand is a deal breaker. Give me a 1970-1978 Datsun S30 for that amount.