If, as Jay Kay believes; “A car is an extension of the owner’s personality,” then the pint-sized king of funk rock lives his creed in a truly schizophrenic way — the Jamiroquai front man owns 18 cars. Surely they cannot all mirror the man?

“True,” says Jay, jigging around and about the newest toy in the Kay cupboard, a pearlescent black Ferrari Enzo. “But this car is the closest match yet. It suits my personality — dark and a bit nasty.”

We are here at Goodwood House in Sussex, where Jay is making a pilgrimage to the annual Festival of Speed, and he’s in his element. “I’ve had a few Ferraris,” smiles Jay, which is a bit like Marilyn Monroe saying she had a few admirers. “But this is the best car I have ever driven. It’s like driving a [Scalextric] slot car.”

Apparently it’s not at all like the other three Ferraris he owns, nor for that matter like the ones he’s owned in the past. “It is so different from the F40. It’s not so spartan and it’s easier to drive — the F40 could really catch you out. What’s more, this is the car of the moment.”

And he’s not wrong. Almost half a million pounds’ worth of bellissimo capable of 218mph, the Enzo has been developed by Michael Schumacher, which some might say is a bit like having Michelangelo pop round to decorate your house.

Enzo owners are limited to 399 worldwide, and just 25 of those will be in the UK. Eric Clapton, Jay’s rock rival in all things petrol-powered, is another Enzo driver. Ownership is also by invitation only, although one dealer in southern California has one on his forecourt for sale at double the list price.

“A million quid!” barks Jay, dancing about in a pair of Adidas shoes made to match the Enzo’s deep ocean green leather interior. “That’s a lot. Even for a rock star!”

Cars are one of the true consistencies in Jay’s life. He lost his twin brother at six weeks and grew up on the road while touring with his singer mother Karen. As a teenager he drifted into petty crime in west London, before breaking out of the underground acid jazz scene to hit superstardom a decade ago as the funky white boy with a bagful of killer tunes and a penchant for oversized hats.

“The first thing I bought with my first royalty cheque — which was for £5,000 — was a car. It was a BMW 1602 and it cost me a grand 11 years ago, which was quite a lot,” he says.

The conversation continues on the trot as we bounce like pinballs from car to car. Jay talks in the same way that he dances — forever shifting and sliding, then suddenly changing direction. “Where were we? The 1602, yep. Loved it,” he says. “In fact I loved it so much that I just bought it back from my band’s didgeridoo player (Wallis Buchanan).”

Life as Jay Kay is never dull. About the same time as he regained his BMW he was reunited with his estranged Portuguese father, who he says looks a little bit like Al Pacino and with whom he is in the early stages of trying to rebuild a relationship. He has also been through a very high-profile split from Denise Van Outen, the one-time Big Breakfast presenter and star of the musical Chicago.

And then there was a spell of self-destructive mayhem, when barely a week would go by without the tabloids being full of pictures of Jay Kay staggering out of various London clubs much the worse for wear. The real low point came when he got into a fight with a paparazzi photographer whom he suspected of denting his £100,000 Bentley, all under the gaze of the television crews. “He gave me a nice, juicy head-butt and there was claret all over the gaff,” he said at the time.