Hooniverse Weekend Edition – Meet the Jerrari!


What do you get when you cross a Jeep Wagoneer and a Ferrari?
If you clicked in thinking you would see this you might be a little bit disappointed.  Interestingly enough, both of these Jeeperrari’s were the brainchild of the same man, the late hotel mogel Bill Harrah.  While the aforementioned “Jerrari” had copious amounts of WTF mixed into it’s design, this second edition, if you want to call it that, flies completely under the radar in that it looks like a completely stock Wagoneer.  And I do believe JPmagazine said it best: “This vehicle is the great grandfather of the SRT-8 Grand Cherokee. Bill Harrah saw the utility of a fast four-wheel-drive vehicle three decades before the masses did.”

It’s not until you get up close and take a peek under the hood that you realize this isn’t your gramps grocery-getter.  The area normally reserved for an anemic AMC 360 is filled with a glorious 268 ci V-12, donated from a wrecked 365 GTC/4.

While the first Jerrari was auctioned on eBay a few years back, this beauty is apparently still on display at the National Auto Museum in Reno.
hat tip to Seb
image credit:  www.trombinoscar.com

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  1. facelvega Avatar
    facelvega

    Okay, by 77 the AMC 360 was definitely anemic, but it wasn't originally made that way: in earlier years you could get one with 295 HP and 395 lb. ft. of torque. Low-compression heads and air-stifling emissions gear ruined it. In early 71 spec, it would have been down 50 horses on the Ferrari engine, but with 83 lb. ft. more torque, and at much lower revs. Of course, it's still no match for the Ferrari engine, but it doesn't deserve to be remembered only for its decline.

    1. ZomBee Racer Avatar

      Thank you, kind sir.

    2. RegalRegalia Avatar
      RegalRegalia

      Don't underestimate how valuable a bundle of extra torque can be, not to say that I don't find this car awesome.

      1. facelvega Avatar
        facelvega

        Yeah, the extra low-rev torque would be particularly useful in something like oh, say, a truck. I wonder how hard it is to get one of those late, weak 360s refitted to higher-power spec. A quick google search of jeep and amc forums shows that there are kits out there for just this purpose, and if you're doing an engine rebuild anyway, the added cost wouldn't be too exorbitant.

  2. smokyburnout Avatar
    smokyburnout

    It keeps the Ferrari's 5-speed! Awesome.
    <img src="http://image.jpmagazine.com/f/24856736/154_0909_03_z+1977_jeep_wagoneer_ferrari+interior.jpg&quot; />

  3. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    I remember first reading about the first Jerrari back in the early '70s. IIRC, it was green.

    1. Maxichamp Avatar

      I think there are two of them.

  4. west_coaster Avatar
    west_coaster

    I saw this at the National Automobile Museum in Reno some years ago. One of my favorites of the late Mr. Harrah's collection.
    My other favorite is a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere coupe (or some kind of Chrysler 2-door), with a 426 Hemi and factory air conditioning. The fun thing about that car was that you couldn't get a Hemi engine with a/c. But, it seems, Harrah could.

  5. Jim-Bob Avatar
    Jim-Bob

    It's cool for the freak factor but I tend to think it was an ill-conceived marriage due to the torque needs of a vehicle that heavy. Yes, the 360 used in that year was not that great but a swap to a built 401 would have been both easier and better in practical terms as well. It would have brought forged rods and a forged crank to the marriage too, so it would have been more durable than the 360. With a mild performance build it would also run rings around that Ferrari V12 for a small fraction of the cost. Sorry but I have never been a fan of high strung Italian V12s of the past. They make a great noise but they usually failed to make great power to match the sound.

    1. west_coaster Avatar
      west_coaster

      Okay, the practicality of this is next to nil.
      But there's a much more important reason that this happened. "I'm Bill F***ing Harrah and I want a Jeep with a Ferrari engine. Build it."

  6. citroen67 Avatar

    Awesome creation! I can only image the instantaneous neck-snapping of the general public if this thing were to be out, say, at the grocery store, and one were to fire up that little twelve-popper!
    I love when people put strange engines in relatively normal-looking vehicles. If for nothing more than the "WTF?" factor of when you start it. Kind of like that kid that stuffed a 4b Cummins into a Crown Vic!

  7. CptSevere Avatar

    This thing's awesome. Read the JP article, pretty cool. This creation has the original Quadratrac transfer case, straight axles, and leaf springs. It topped out at 140 MPH. Bill Harrah apparently drove it regularly. Hell, I would, too.

    1. ZomBee Racer Avatar

      And at full @#$%& throttle whenever I could! Heh-heh!

  8. RichardKopf Avatar
    RichardKopf

    It's too bad it's no longer in use.