Back in 1992, things looked quite different for James May than they do today. At the time, he was not known as a former Top Gear host, he had not spent his time migrating from the BBC to Amazon Prime after his co-star decided to try his hand at boxing, and he did not have the extensive car collection that he boasts today.
No, back in 1992, May was busy being fired from his job as sub-editor at Autocar.
Now how did May manage that? By doing the most James May thing possible: getting bored while writing up Autocar’s 1992 Road Test Year Book and entertaining himself by hiding a slightly profane message within its pages. By joining the first letter of each article, a keen reader spotted May’s note, which read, “So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse.” Not harmful, not entirely harmless, but regardless, the damage was done and May soon found himself out of a job. But because of May’s strange sense of humor, he later got himself a gig as Top Gear’s Capitan Slow. And though his nickname may imply that he’s got a feather foot, his collection of Ferraris says otherwise.
F430
In fact, not only does May have a penchant for speed (don’t forget, he once out-sped his co-hosts by hitting 259 mph in a Bugatti Veyron), he’s also owned more Ferraris than both Richard Hammond or Jeremy Clarkson combined. His Prancing Horse addiction first showed when he purchased a Ferrari F430. Given the car’s balanced handling and its buttery smooth 4.3-liter V8 that sends 483 horsepower to the rear wheels, it’s easy to see how May’s Ferrari love affair began. Take a trip into the Top Gear archives and you’ll even catch him calling the F430 “magic,” claiming that the car enhanced the power, speed, and simplicity of driving.
Staying true to his subdued style, May had his F430 painted silver rather than Rosso Corsa Red like most Ferrari buyers do, and then made the mistake of loaning his car to Jeremy Clarkson so that he could compare it to the new (at the time) 458 Italia.
458 Italia
And it is perhaps because Clarkson so thoroughly bashed May’s F430 when comparing it to the 458 Italia that May later went out and got himself one of those as well. As a sign that his tastes were getting more extreme, he had his 458 Italia painted bright yellow and spec’d the interior stitching to match.
Despite the fact the 458 bears some resemblance to the F430, it was completely reworked from the bottom up to deliver even more of the “magic” that sold May on Ferraris in the first place. With its 4.5-liter V8 sending 562 horsepower through a new 7-speed dual clutch transmission, May’s 458 Italia had more than enough snuff to earn him a new nickname if he wanted it.
458 Speciale
Then the inevitable happened. Ferrari, in its quest to make and constantly remake the perfect car, hit the design table and came up with the 458 Speciale. Changes went far deeper than the Speciale’s 35 horsepower bump over the 458 Italia, it also included a new electronic traction control system, forged wheels, a vented hood, finned side sills, a taller rear spoiler, and redesigned bumpers with active aerodynamics. And of course, this was enough to make May ditch his 458 Italia and get the Speciale.
Funnily enough, the Speciale was May’s first brand-new Ferrari, the rest having been used examples, and he put in the order right after losing his job at Top Gear due to the Clarkson fiasco. Not only that, but by the time May got around to ordering the Speciale, Ferrari had already sold its last example and was prepping its factory to produce the 488 GTB. It made an exception and built one more car for Capitan Slow, and that’s how he got his hands on a Rosso Dino Red 458 Speciale.
308
Of course, no James May car collection would be complete without a classic that’s beauty transcends the generations. That’s why the slowest man alive also has a Ferrari 308 in his garage. Given that its 2.9-liter V8 only makes 255 horsepower, it’s not the most exhilarating car May owns. In fact, he even called the classic “hopeless” and “old” during an interview with Motor Trend and went as far as to say that a modern Volkswagen Golf is a superior machine. So why did he buy the 308 in the first place? Well, during a session of James May Answers Questions in a Barber Shop, he claimed that he got the 308 because it is “one of the best pieces of styling Ferrari ever did.” We'll give a nod to that.