A Look Into Jay Leno's Favorite Cars

When it comes to car collectors, we are well-versed with names such as the Sultan of Brunei, GerCollector, and Rowan Atkinson while Jay Leno is another name that comes up automatically with the term car collection as well. Starting his career back in 1976, Leno has been having a glorious career for over four decades now and is a well-known television host and a stand-up comedian as well. While his celebrity status has reached another level, his love for cars has earned him a special place in the automotive world as well. Utilizing his fame and wealth, Leno has managed to collect some of the rarest and one-off automobiles that were ever produced in the world and we’ll take a look at some of his favorite cars below. 

8. 1963 Jaguar XK-E

None other than Enzo Ferrari stated that the Jaguar XK-E was one of the most beautiful vehicles he has ever seen when the vehicle was launched. And this is a massive statement coming from a person who single-handedly designed some of the best sports cars back in the day. Jay Leno was fortunate enough to get his hands on a 1963 XK-E which was previously owned by a lady for over 50 years. He stated that the vehicle did not require any restorations since it was in immaculate shape, running with almost all original parts as well.

The XK-E is powered by a naturally aspirated 3.8-liter I-6 motor that delivers 265 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. With a 4-speed manual, the car can hit 60 mph in under 7.9 seconds and achieve a top speed of 150 mph, with the numbers being a great deal when the car was launched.

7. 1994 McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is nothing short of a masterpiece from none other than Gordon Murray. Loaded with numerous proprietary techs and designs, the F1 is still as streamlined as modern sports cars and made its debut with a unique seating arrangement inside. While the driver sits at the center of the cabin, both sides are flanked by rather compact passenger seats. The engine gets gold foils as a heat shield in the exhaust chamber, something that was unheard of before. Leno is a proud owner of one example of the F1 since the car was limited to 106 units only.

The F1 is powered by a naturally aspirated BMW V12 motor mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The motor puts out a whopping 618 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque and the numbers are still quite impressive by today’s standards as well. The top speed of the F1 was around 240 mph and it could hit 60 mph within 3.2 seconds.

6. 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing Coupe

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL is still a graceful car to look at, especially with its upward-opening gullwing doors. When it was launched, the car was among the first to get fuel injection tech back then and was based on Benz’s W194 race car. The 300SL was also the fastest production road car of its time too. With its immense popularity shooting up sky-high, the car is auctioned for hundreds and thousands of dollars, even touching the million mark in some cases. Despite that, the car carried a price tag of around seven grand only during its launch. Jay Leno owns one and according to him, his car is worth around $1.8 million since he did all the restoration work and he found the vehicle rusting in a desert missing an engine and a transmission.

The 300SL is powered by a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated I-6 motor that delivers a healthy 212 hp and 217 lb-ft of torque. The motor is mated to a 4-speed manual gearbox and is capable of hitting 60 mph from a standstill in under 7.7 seconds. Also, it has a top speed of 161 mph.

5. 2006 EcoJet

The 2006 EcoJet is a one-off car that was built with the collaboration of Jay Leno, General Motors, BASF, and Alcoa. Leno’s aim was to build a concept car that can be driven on regular roads at any given time, unlike other concept vehicles. Interestingly, the car gets a gas turbine engine from Honeywell that is used to power helicopters but runs on biofuel, hence the name EcoJet. On the inside, the car is quite high-tech and gets computers running Microsoft Windows Vista and uses cameras as rear view mirrors instead of actual mirrors.

The Honeywell LTS101 gas turbine helicopter engine runs on biofuel and generates a maximum of 650 hp along with 583 lb-ft of torque. Instead of a manual gearbox that would lead the turbine to overspeed, a 4-speed automatic transaxle unit from a Z06 Corvette was used instead. 

4. Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita

Koenigsegg has always strived to deliver something innovative to its customers and we’ve seen some insane releases from the brand such as its 600-hp I-3 motor and that single-gear hybrid hypercar Regera. Back when the brand was making the iconic CCX and the CCXR, it produced a limited edition called the CCXR Trevita where the Trevita translated to "three whites" in Swedish. When all other automakers were in the early stages of making carbon fiber for their supercars, they came only with black weaves but Koenigsegg was able to develop a unique silvery white weave. As such, it added the Trevita badge after the CCXR. Jay Leno also got one for himself. However, as a huge fan of environment-friendly E100 fuel, he converted his model to run on the same, making it the only one, practically.

In general, the car is powered by a 4.7-liter V8 with two superchargers, something that only this brand can do. It delivers a whopping 1,018 hp and 782 lb-ft of torque. The car got the enjoyable 6-speed manual gearbox and has the ability to hit 60 mph in under 3.1 seconds, thereafter achieving a top speed in excess of 245 mph.

3. Mclaren P1

The McLaren P1 was, and is still a dream hypercar for plenty of enthusiasts, especially due to its eye-watering price tag of over a million dollars. Notably, the car’s designer Frank Stephenson stated that the design of some body panels of the car is inspired by sailfish which he encountered on his holiday in Miami. This one’s a hybrid supercar and was a limited production of only 439 units. Moreover, the P1 gets some techs borrowed from Formula 1 as well courtesy of McLaren’s F1 brilliance.

The P1 is powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 and is assisted by a plug-in hybrid system. Together, the system produces 903 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. On a straight line, the car manages to hit 60 mph within a mere 2.5 seconds and has a top speed of 217 mph which it achieves via the 7-speed DCT.

2. 1963 Corvette Stingray Split-Window

The 1963 Corvette Stingray is still an excellent collector's car and is one of the most iconic ones in the history of Corvettes as well. The car became popular due to its design and extensive use of big engines and incredible power figures for its time. The Split Window design is even more iconic since it was produced for a limited time only and was discontinued due to safety concerns. Leno got himself an excellent example of the same for around a hundred thousand dollars.

Under the hood of the Corvette Stingray sits a big 5.4-liter V8 that produces 360 hp and is mated to a 4-speed manual gearbox. The number might not seem much today, but it was a huge deal back then since most cars were only able to manage around 160 horses.

1. 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is still legendary since it has some unique and complex engineering running under its skin. The car was in production from 2003 to 2009 and was a result of a direct collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren automotive. Right from the start, the car gets some F1-style construction and techs such as carbon ceramic brakes and a dry-sump lubrication system for the motor. Today, the car is valued at around three hundred thousand dollars.

The car is powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 motor developed by McLaren and puts out 617 hp along with 575 lb-ft of torque. The motor is paired with a 5-speed automatic transmission, allowing the car to hit 60 mph in under 3.5 seconds. The top speed is around 210 mph.