Canned Heat: driving Jay Kay’s Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M
Jay Kay is one of Britain’s best known car collectors – and the Jamiroquai frontman has a particular passion for Ferrari. The video for the band’s 1996 single, Cosmic Girl, featured a Ferrari F40 and F355 chasing a Lamborghini Diablo on mountain roads in Spain. And the cover of their third album, Travelling Without Moving, recreated the Ferrari badge, with Jamiroquai’s ‘Buffalo Man’ logo in place of a prancing horse.
The man born Jason Cheetham has also owned numerous Ferraris over the years, including a 250 GT Lusso, 275 GTB, Enzo, LaFerrari, one-off 330 GT Shooting Brake and the 430 Scuderia Spider 16M seen here.
Ordered new by Jay Kay in 2009, the car is now for sale with Ferrari specialist DK Engineering via online auction platform Carhuna. But I got to drive it first.
Seeing the light
The Spider 16M – named to celebrate Ferrari’s 16th F1 constructors’ title in 2008 – is essentially an al fresco version of the hardcore, track-focused 430 Scuderia. However, with only 499 cars made, the convertible is much rarer than its coupe sibling.
The 16M’s 4.3-litre naturally aspirated V8 unleashes 510hp at a stratospheric 8,500rpm, powering the rear Pirelli P Zero Corsas via a six-speed automated manual gearbox. Titanium springs, carbon-ceramic brakes and liberal use of carbon fibre make it 80kg lighter than a regular F430 Spider, at 1,340kg without fluids. Ferrari quotes 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a 196mph maximum.
Jay Kay’s car has Bianco Avus white paint with Italian Tricolore stripes, exposed carbon lower sills and a personalised plaque on the dashboard. It isn’t the most beautiful of Ferraris, nor as stylish as the rival Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, but the 16M radiates aggression from its wedgy nose to its angular rear diffuser.
Street fighter
Its interior is also sparsely functional, with more unpainted carbon fibre, lightweight bucket seats and no carpets (the floor is covered in aluminium chequer plate, revealing some of the body welds). Ferrari’s only concession to comfort was a six-speaker audio system controlled by an iPod Touch, although this has since been swapped for a conventional DIN head unit.
The 16M might be fast, but its electric roof certainly isn’t; hold down a button and the fabric hood takes 25 seconds to somersault beneath the rear deck. I thumb a red button on the steering wheel and the V8 snorts into life, then idles impatiently. With the manettino dial twisted to Sport (rightly, there’s no ‘Comfort’ mode in a Ferrari), I pull the right paddle and edge into the autumn sunshine.
I’ve had to settle for Home Counties, rather than Spanish mountain switchbacks, yet straight away, as I exit the industrial estate where DK Engineering has its supercar storage facility, the Ferrari feels urgent and exotic. Like a Porsche 911 GT3 RS of the same era, its ride is uncompromising but not uncomfortable. And its hydraulic power steering tingles with incessant feedback, even when pottering through the suburbs.
Turn up the volume
Heading away from London into the countryside, I can see why the Scuderia – with its handling and e-diff honed by Michael Schumacher – was put on a pedestal. Every input and response feels beautifully balanced, with scarcely a sense of inertia. The ‘F1 Superfast’ transmission isn’t as slick as the dual-clutch ’boxes that followed, but its thumping upshifts add to the visceral experience.
More than anything, though, it’s the sound that stays with you. When the revs soar and V8’s extra intake resonators open, the serrated metallic howl is brutal and overwhelming. Like the 16M itself, it’s raw and breathtakingly intense: a hit of pure automotive adrenalin. I can’t imagine ever getting bored of it.
Fourteen years ago, Jay Kay likely paid a touch more than £200,000 for his Scuderia Spider 16M. Today, this limited edition Ferrari is worth more like £360,000. Tempted to bid? Carhuna’s online auction starts soon.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research
PRICE: £350,000 (est.)
POWER: 510hp
0-62MPH: 3.7sec
TOP SPEED: 196mph
FUEL ECONOMY: 18.0mpg
DRY WEIGHT: 1,340kg