Leave it up to Jay Leno to introduce us to some of the rarest, and coolest, cars ever made, that we didn’t even know existed until they show up on Jay Leno’s Garage. One such example is a very rare car, one of only seven examples ever made, known as the 1989 Ford Shogun. This compact Ford was a modified version of the Ford Festiva, and it’s a wicked little beast.
While we usually see cars that guests bring on the show, this particular one is apart of Jay’s personal collection, it is a car he has owned for 26-years. It features a naturally aspirated V6 engine, stuffed in the tiny frame of the Festiva, and was developed with the aid of Yamaha.
In this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the former talk show host and well-known car guy talks about the story behind the mid-engine converted 1989 Ford Festiva. As he explains, there were only seven of these ever made, and they were built by a team formed by Chuck Beck and Rick Titus. When the 1989 Ford Shogun was launched, it was just as expensive as a brand new Chevy Corvette.
Adding to the uniqueness of the car, each one of the seven examples built were painted a different color, so each one built is a one-of-one car. Outside of the ‘rare’ factor, there was good reason to own one of these Shoguns, they could cover a quarter-mile in just 12.9-seconds at a speed of 100.9-mph, or about the same time as a 4th-gen F-Body with an LS1 engine.
Jay’s car is hooked up with a tune and nitrous kit to kick it up another 90-horsepower, a pretty big deal for such a little car. In this video, Jay explains how satisfied he is with the car, and claims he’s only had to change the oil, tires, brakes and battery during his 26-years of ownership. All things considered, this is a cool little car that would be a blast to drive!
Shawn Henry is a Texas native who has spent the majority of his career building and selling F-Bodies and Corvettes. Now studying journalism, he is taking a new direction with his love of GM Performance vehicles.
