[ChiragM]

Most of us have heard about Jay Leno's massive car collection. According to this December 2019 report by duPont Registry, the collection includes 181 cars and 160 motorcycles and its valued at more than US$ 52 million. There is no exact number of vehicles in the collection as he keeps buying and selling cars, and also the value of the cars keeps increasing as he restores cars he buys as well. The garage consists of new supercars, hypercars, classics and some unique aircraft engined cars as well. There's everything from steam cars to electric cars to even a jet-engined bike. The garage also has a lot of car-related artwork, memorabilia, diecast models, and even engines on display. There's also a workshop next door to maintain and restore cars. To get an idea of the massive collection and the sheer size of the garage, take a look at this video by Shmee150:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV2EM7zanyM

Here are a few reviews of some of the cars and bikes in his garage.

Tata Nano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGEwG62Q1UQ

Starting this thread with none other than the Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world. Jay Leno got a white Nano with orange and green stripes shipped directly from the factory. It was not road legal in the US and thus had to be tested at a track. The car, which has now been discontinued, came with a 624cc engine producing 37 BHP and 51 Nm.

McLaren F1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEjuJyjQ8YI

Probably one of the most famous and everyone's favourite cars in his collection. Jay's owned this car for more than 20 years and has a lot of interesting stories to share about with this one. This car was initially used almost everyday. When launched the F1 held the record for the fastest production car in the world. Powered by a 6.1-litre BMW V12 engine, the car recorded a top speed of 386.4 km/h.

McLaren P1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqOLMtZufsI

One of the holy trinity of hybrid hypercars launched. In the video, the P1 is show alongside the F1, 12C and the SLR McLaren. Jay interviews the CEO of McLaren as well. The hybrid car is powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. The total power output is 903 BHP.

1934 Rolls-Royce Merlin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AKCnIO2QeM

Jay has had this car for almost 30 years and it took a long time to be built. The car is based on a 1934 Rolls Royce P2 chassis with custom bodywork built at the garage. It is powered by a 27-litre Merlin aircraft engine. The car is said to make around 1,000 BHP.

Jaguar XK-E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22NTet2n-Sg

This 1963 Jaguar E-Type is heavily modified. It has had its wheelbase shortened and comes with a Series 2 front end and a Series 1 rear end. Its got a 5.7-litre V12 under the hood.

1999 MTT Y2K

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFS8pzBZU5c

This one bike stands out in his extensive motorbike collection. The Y2K is one of the fastest production motorcycles and one of the most expensive in the world. It is powered by a Rolls-Royce turbine engine producing 316 BHP at 52,000 rpm. It is said to have a top speed of 381 km/h.

Lamborghini Miura

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sylxXJUmtp0

Jay Leno has two Lamborghini Miuras - a 1967 and a 1969. This is the earlier one and interestingly, he got the car for free. The first owner was Dean Martin, who's son blew the engine. The engine has now been rebuilt. The Miura is considered to be the first supercar with the mid-engined two-seat layout and is powered by a 4.0-litre V12.

Ford GT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-MCdfqL61E

Jay has both the previous generation GT as well as the current GT, both with the same serial number. The car is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine and was launched 50 years after the GT40 won the 1966 24 Hours of Lemans. Jay also has a Ford GT bench with a matching colour scheme in the garage.

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa_UGRN0wds

This car has around 10,000 miles on it. It is claimed to consistently hit 320 km/h on every run. The car was jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren. It features a 5.4-litre V8 which puts out 617 BHP.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYU94CB7RO0

The garage houses the first-generation Mustang GT 350 as well as the latest car. Both cars are finished in white with blue stripes and are 50 years apart. It is powered by a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine. The video also features Jamal Hameedi, Ford Performance Chief Engineer.

1909 Baker electric car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhnjMdzGusc

A video from a different YouTube channel. It is said that this car was mainly aimed at women customers. The interior was also designed to attract women customers. Jay Leno claims that at one point, there were 15,000 of these cars running around New York City and that there were charging stations all over the place. It is said to have a range of around 160 km.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Eshan Joshi]

Adding one of Jay Leno's favorite rides , the rare GMC Syclone. This is the car (Truck) he used to daily drive for many years.

Jay still loves it, and still drives it. It's not pristine, but he says it's been "bulletproof".

Available in black only, the Sylcone was a limited-production model of which about only 3,000 units were ever made. The car was based on the GMC Sonoma pick-up truck. It featured a 4.3 liter turbocharged V6 rated at around 280 hp (209 kW / 284 PS) but likely doling out much more than that. The engine was mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox transmitting power to an all-wheel drive system.

The Syclone featured a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) sprint time of just 4.3 seconds according to Car & Driver, which in 1991 was quicker than any Ferrari or Corvette available giving it the title of fastest stock pickup truck in the world.

For More:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...ver-for-years/
https://www.motor1.com/news/28548/ja...syclone-video/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRBd6g6CdDs

[GTO]

A true car guy . His collection is insane and some of his videos are really good. I love the way he invites / interviews industry personalities in his garage. E.g. when he drove the McLaren P1, he had the CEO with him!

Sharing a bunch I watched in April:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqOLMtZufsI

Loved this one. With a Lamborghini expert technician:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyAUxLFR04Q

Interviewing one of the all-time industry greats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4aatqMxFnE

Amazing detail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNgQijqB_60

[naveen.raju]

Am a subscriber and catch up with most of the videos. Here are some of my favorite videos:

Batman's Tumbler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydtGew7bWuw

Tim Allen's 1968 Camaro 427 COPO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxvAkUupnKw

1,000 HP 'Vicious' 1965 Ford Mustang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvAqEGbkx5E

1951 Kaiser Drag'n

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEvMSkRWOK0

and lots more.

Courtesy - YouTube

[V.Narayan]

Wow. WOW. WOW!!!

What a collection. ChiragM, thank you for pulling it together for us to drool over. I just freaked out on that Rolls Royce Merlin powered car. Rated the thread a well deserved 5 stars. And this needs a leisurely reading & viewing on Sunday.

[turbo]

I'm sorry, but I dont find anything incredible about this collection.
He just has money, and collects cars like a kid collects Hot Wheels. To me he's a collector, not an auto enthusiast.

I respect a person who has one, maybe two cars (these are cars per person, mind you, so a family of 6 can have 12 cars), and these cars are driven everyday. Or atleast every week. Buying cars, then keeping them in a storage, and driving them 50 KM a year, is not an enthusiast for me. They're not cars anymore, they're showpieces.

[ChiragM]

Originally Posted by turbo

He just has money, and collects cars like a kid collects Hot Wheels. To me he's a collector, not an auto enthusiast.

I respect a person who has one, maybe two cars (these are cars per person, mind you, so a family of 6 can have 12 cars), and these cars are driven everyday. Or atleast every week. Buying cars, then keeping them in a storage, and driving them 50 KM a year, is not an enthusiast for me. They're not cars anymore, they're showpieces.

Disagree. All collectors are also enthusiasts, whether they are Hotwheels or real cars. If they were not, they would not spend their hard earned money on exotic cars they do not care about.

Jay Leno is probably one of the biggest petrolheads around. All his money goes into procuring, restoring and upkeep of these cars. He takes the pain to go into the details while customizing and restoring them. If that's not an enthusiast, who is?

Also, ALL of his cars are driven regularly. They are NOT showpieces, or garage queens. The F1 was used as a daily driven and is still driven on occasion. He takes it car shows as well (watch his Top Gear interview for a story on that). The SLR has a lot of miles on it. Every single car in his garage is driven if they are not in the workshop. He has his own workshop as well. He even took his 1909 Baker electric car to a major hotel when his house was under renovation.

Everything screams petrolhead + enthusiast.

Originally Posted by GTO

A true car guy . His collection is insane and some of his videos are really good. I love the way he invites / interviews industry personalities in his garage. E.g. when he drove the McLaren P1, he had the CEO with him!

If you like that, you would definitely like this video featuring one of your favourite cars and the man behind it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBJODV_tyDA&t=5s

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by turbo

I'm sorry, but I dont find anything incredible about this collection.
He just has money, and collects cars like a kid collects Hot Wheels. To me he's a collector, not an auto enthusiast.

I respect a person who has one, maybe two cars (these are cars per person, mind you, so a family of 6 can have 12 cars), and these cars are driven everyday. Or atleast every week. Buying cars, then keeping them in a storage, and driving them 50 KM a year, is not an enthusiast for me. They're not cars anymore, they're showpieces.

<Scene: Clenched fists, face beetroot red, teeth gnashing.....>

I am repeating to myself, "Narayan, a man is entitled to his view, he is entitled to express it, now don't go smash him in the face and kick him in the shin....easy boy, easy. This is not your school playground of 1971. Hold it boy, hold it. Principal GTO might walk past any moment."

Oh, Oh, Oh. Boy. You are walking on thin ice. Forget the nomenclature and enjoy the videos

[PrasannaDhana]

Jay Leno is an hardcore automobile enthusiast. Check out his videos on YouTube where he drives all his cars and bikes around the "Snake" in California.

He is humble too, letting people check his rides when he takes a pitstop on the mountain.

[voldemort]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

I just freaked out on that Rolls Royce Merlin powered car.

I'm aware you're into aviation. Therefore, I think you'll enjoy this particular video where Jay Leno runs a Rolls Royce Merlin engine itself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYcKdK7hmEo

Yes, he owns that engine!

Originally Posted by turbo

I'm sorry, but I dont find anything incredible about this collection.
He just has money, and collects cars like a kid collects Hot Wheels. To me he's a collector, not an auto enthusiast.

Perhaps you should try to get to know Jay Leno a little more. He's not another rich person who keeps buying cars and stowing it away in the garage.

Jay Leno is perhaps amongst the most enthusiastic auto-enthusiasts out there. You can also tell he's got real taste and passion if you consider the cars he has chosen to include in his collection.

He also has a very detailed understanding of how engines, transmissions etc work, and he himself works on his cars quite so often, rebuilding engines and stuff.

Check out his YouTube channel Jay Leno's Garage. I think you'll enjoy what you find.

[G-2]

Hats off to him!! He has got a fantastic collection of cars and motorcycles and there are lots of videos on his youtube channel!! Wish there was a garage tour or something...

Many rare vehicles including the 300SL and the Mercedes transporter among others. Several one of a kind motorcycles too - Vincents and Brough Superiors et al.
And he's always so well informed about the history and also how he came about to owning the vehicle in question. Definitely involved in their maintenance and upkeep!! And best of all he drives/rides them for us to see...not just show pieces!!

[AKV10]

Since most of my favorites of the Big Dog Garage are already mentioned above, here is another one that is a treat to watch. This 20 minute film shows how Jay Leno conceptualized and designed his own turbine-engined car. Here's the video:

EcoJet: Definitive Edition - Jay Leno's Garage

[laser2707]

Thanks to ChiragM for this post on Jay Leno's collection. This is probably one of the best-known car collections in the world.

What I like about Jay Leno is his eagerness to share his collection with as many auto enthusiasts as possible. Any auto vlogger on Youtube worth his/her salt has done an episode on his collection. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge about cars, the history of various marques & their model years. It is fascinating to watch him on these videos.

The range & spread of his collection should not lead to a debate on whether he is an enthusiast or not. Every man to his own. Besides his knowledge of cars is proof enough he lives & breathes cars.

There are many auto collections around the world that make you wonder what was the owner thinking he put it together. There is a collection in Abu Dhabi called the "Rainbow Sheikh". This is open to the public and some of the exhibits make you really wonder...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI5-eAfB2Fc

Jay Leno IMHO does not belong to this category. I think he wants to build a repository of Automotive History.

[HooghlyBoy]

Mr. Jay Leno definitely has a passion for Cars.
See how elaborately he describes The Fiat Millecento,a car I aspire to own some day, This one is from 1959
:

http://youtu.be/-Uk-qkmCXRc