10 Rarest Cars In Jay Leno’s Garage
It’s no secret that celebrities typically have impressive car collections, but there’s one that shines above them all – even above Paul McCartney’s car collection. Of course, we’re talking about none other than the man, the myth, the legend, Jay Leno.
With more than 180 cars and 160 motorcycles in his collection, Leno is bound to have some ostentatious classic cars, and modern ones too. Name it, and chances are that Jay has one example of it nesting in his garage – even some of the lesser-sought-after vehicles like American muscle cars that’ll bankrupt you. Regardless, Jay really has it all.
Throughout his massive collection, there are quite a few cars that stretch beyond $1 million, albeit impressive, there is one more feat these cars carry… they’re excruciatingly rare. So, today we’re going to have a look at some of Jay Leno’s scarcest cars.
10 1953 Cunningham C3
With only 25 examples of the Cunningham C3 coupe in existence, the C3 still remains the least rare on our list somehow. The Cunningham C3 had only one goal in mind… to be a homologation special.
By building 25 units of the Cunningham C3, Briggs Cunningham, the mastermind behind the C3, could enter Le Mans races alongside Jaguar, Aston Martin, and so forth. It’s surreal to think Jay Leno got the chance to pick one of these up.
9 1939 Lagonda V12
From homologated Le Mans car we move over to a near-carbon copy Le Mans race car, the 1939 Lagonda V12. Technically speaking, the V12 Lagonda isn’t the rarest car ever made, but only 10 Le Mans specification Lagonda V12s ever grazed the world.
Powering this stellar-looking race car was of course a gorgeous naturally-aspirated 4.5-liter V12 engine that churned out around 200 hp. Despite the Lagonda V12 being rare and difficult to drive, Leno still stretches its legs occasionally.
8 1906 Stanley Steamer Vanderbilt Cup Racer
First things first. Initially, only two Stanley Steamer Vanderbilt Cup Racers got made, but due to high demand, some replicas saw the light of day too. Well, only 8 replicas of the 1906 Stanley Steamer Vanderbilt Cup Racer exist, and Jay Leno has one of them.
Believe it or not, Leno actually got stopped by a police officer for speeding when driving his 1906 Steamer on California’s 405 at 76 mph. Luckily, the officer who pulled him over didn’t write Leno a ticket. We mean, would you?
7 1963 Chrysler Turbine
The Chrysler Turbine is arguably one of the coolest cars to ever exist. In the ’60s, the race to space was on everyone’s minds. So, as a result, many carmakers started experimenting with intergalactic-inspired design languages and technology… hence the Chrysler Turbine’s unique appearance and powertrain. Speaking of, the Chrysler Turbine adopted a gas turbine engine with 130 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque.
Originally, Chrysler made 50 units, but it’s said that less than 10 still exist today. Most of them sit in museums, but Leno is lucky enough to have one of these prototypes in his collection.
6 2006 GM EcoJet
One of the rarest cars
Jay Leno
owns is one that no one else had the chance of buying, the 2006 GM EcoJet. Despite the EcoJet being not much more than a concept car, it opened everyone’s eyes to alternative methods to traditional internal combustion engines.In the middle of the EcoJet laid a turbine engine that used bio-diesel fuel. In fact, it put out a staggering 650 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. Since then, another collaboration between GM and Jay Leno is yet to take place.
5 2010 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita
None of Koenigsegg’s cars are how do we say… mass-produced. But the 2010 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita takes the cake for being the rarest Koenigsegg ever. To be exact, only two CCXR Trevita examples exist, of which one was Floyd Mayweather’s. He has since sold it for $2.6 million.
Why so much you ask? Apart from the staggering twin-supercharged 4.8-liter V8 that punches north of 1,000 hp and 796 lb-ft of torque, many of its components are diamond-infused. Talk about flexing your jewelry…
4 1934 Duesenberg Walker Coupe
Many Duesenberg cars came to fruition throughout history, but the most expensive Doozy ever made – at least when referring to MSRP at the time – the 1934 Duesenberg Walker Coupe takes the cake. Back in 1934, it had a sticker price of $25,000, which is equivalent to $562,116 in 2023.
Apart from it being drop-dead gorgeous, only one Duesenberg Walker Coupe was ever made. But that’s not the end of our list…
3 1963 Jaguar XK-E
For the average onlooker, Jay Leno’s 1963 Jaguar XK-E looks like nearly identical to any other E-Type, but it’s rather special. Contrary to other E-Types that retained a 3.8 inline-six, Leno’s 1963 Jaguar XK-E used a custom 5.7-liter V12.
But it doesn’t stop there. This particular XK-E is the only short-wheelbase XK-E that features a V12 in the world.
2 1950 Mercedes-Benz Racecar Transporter
Even way back when, car brands who competed in big races needed to transport their cars to the racetrack safely. Mercedes-Benz’s answer to this conundrum was to build its own transporting truck.
At first glance, there’s not much about the 1950 Mercedes-Benz Racecar Transporter that distinguishes it from any ordinary truck, but the public loved them nonetheless. It still remains somewhat of an industry secret as to how many Racecar Transporters Mercedes-Benz built, but Jay’s Transporter is just a replica. Also, it can go faster than 100 mph.
1 1931 Shotwell
Never heard of the 1931 Shotwell before? Well don’t worry, we barely knew of it beforehand too. That said, the story behind the 1931 Shotwell is incredible, and it’s all thanks to Bob Shotwell.
When Shotwell was 17 years old, he decided to put his hands to work and crafted the Shotwell car by hand. Thereafter, Shotwell drove the car a total of 150,000 miles. As you might know, being hand-built, only one Shotwell exists, and it’s nesting in Jay Leno’s garage.
