Jay Leno in his 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta, recalling simpler times.

Jay Leno thinks the 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta has aged well, and in this episode of "Jay Leno's Garage" he explains why.

The open-top Barchetta, unveiled at the 2000 Paris Motor Show, was a limited edition version of the Ferrari 550 Maranello coupe, one of the last Ferraris to be released before the age of smartphones and infotainment. It belongs to a simpler time when, as Leno puts it, "all you had to do was drive."

With its front-mounted V-12 and six-speed manual transmission with gated shift lever, the 550 Barchetta recalls the classic Ferraris of the 1960s. It was also designed primarily as a convertible, like most 1960s sports cars, with only a rudimentary tent-like roof in case of sudden downpours.

The 5.5-liter V-12 engine featured dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and dry sump lubrication. Maximum output is 478 hp and maximum torque is 419 hp, and according to Ferrari, the car accelerates from 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 186 mph.

Beyond the numbers, the naturally aspirated engine, manual transmission, and lack of complex driver aids provide a purer driving experience than current Ferraris. A veritable throwback to how much things have changed in the past two decades.

Ferrari and coachbuilder Pininfarina built 448 Barchetta cars, compared to about 3,000 standard 550 Maranello coupes. Production was completed fairly quickly, with the last car leaving the factory in December 2001. But that was not the end of the convertible version of this platform. After refreshing the 550 Maranello into the 575M, Ferrari now introduced the 575M Superamerica, this time with a retractable hardtop roof. But that's a story for another day.