Jay Leno is one of the ultimate car guys. If it’s fast, unique or just beautiful, he wants it (if he doesn’t have it already). He is proud of his large collection of Duesenbergs (an ultra-rare classic for the ultra-rich, like a supercar of today.) Unfortunately he may have one less in his collection if a lawsuit does not end in his favor. Leno is being sued over his rare 1931 Duesenberg Model J by the estate of its former owner.

The car was previously owned by former Macy’s executive John Straus, who passed away this May. His estate alleged that in 2005, after Straus rejected Leno’s offer to purchase the Duesenberg, the comedian entered into a “sham” transaction with the garage where the car was stored. According to reports, the Duesenberg and a 1930 Rolls-Royce were auctioned to recover $29,000 in unpaid parking fees. Leno reportedly paid $180,000 for the Model J sedan and someone else purchased the Rolls-Royce.

Straus' estate believes that the fees were made up so that the garage could sell the cars. The suit now values those cars at $1.7 million. Under conflicting reports, the estate is searching for monetary damages, return of the cars or both.

To complicate this story further, Leno described how he came to own this Duesenberg in the 2007 book The Hemi in the Barn. In this account, Leno finds the car lying dormant in the garage for seventy years. It reads as if Leno bought the car directly from Straus to help pay for the delinquent parking fees.

So what's the real story? Did Leno conspire with the garage for the rare car? Is it Leno's car fair and square? That's up for the courts to decide. But any way you look at it, this story is a real Duesy.

-

The picture above is Leno with his Model X Duesenberg

.