There are a couple of companies offering jaw-dropping restomodded vintage Broncos (not on the cheap, though) but nothing beats a Shelby GT500 powered 1968 Ford Bronco unicorn like the one that found a new home inside Jay Leno’s car collection.

Once owned by Craig Ferguson, this Bronco became a gift to Jay Leno

The story of this Bronco begins with a nice gesture Craig Ferguson pulled off during Jay Leno’s last day at The Tonight Show. In Jay Leno’s words, Ferguson had the Bronco towed into Leno’s parking space together with a letter that highlighted some of the car’s faults - we won’t reproduce the exact language, however.

The rest, as they say is history. Keep in mind that you can’t buy this engine separately - you need to purchase the muscle car.

But since Leno is a good friend of Ford Icons Director Dave Pericak, the Bronco got the engine, along with all the mods needed to make it compatible with a manual gearbox. That’s because Jay wanted it to be still a 1968 Bronco, but with more power, better brakes, and better handling - in other words, a bit of a sleeper with all the good stuff in it.

Then there’s the roar of the V-8 as you pound the gas pedal, something that’s best enjoyed in the video and not described in words. Oh, and do watch the whole thing, will you? It would be a shame to ignore a car with such an interesting story - and newfound soul.