Jay Leno is an avid car collector and also an expert. He has approximately 85 cars and over 70 motorcycles in his collection.
His collection spans the entire life of the automobile, including a 1914 Auto Car, a 1909 Baker Electric and a 1915 Franklin featuring a Harley Earl build body. But the collection isn’t just oldies. Jay also sports an incredible array of speed machines, as well. The collection boasts a host of Bughattis and Lamborghinis, as well as an actual F1 racing car from McLaren that is valued at well over a million dollars.
The cars
1941 American LaFrance Fire Truck
This truck was first brought into service at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. With the most powerful production engine built in its day, and its sleek, aerodynamic design that was wind-tunnel tested - a first for a fire truck - this was certainly one of the best that money could buy if you were looking to purchase a fire truck in the early 1940s.
1931 Shotwell
It is a little three-wheeled coupe powered by a 77.2-cu.-in. four-cylinder 1931 Indian motorcycle engine.
Jet Bike
Jay might have a great car collection, but he's also the proud owner of a jet... a jet-powered motorcycle that is. With a C18 Allison Rolls Royce jet engine - the same engine used to power a Bell Ranger Helicopter - and 318 horsepower, this bike can really fly, figuratively speaking, of course.
1870 Steam Engine
Though its exact ancestry is unknown, Jay's steam engine was most likely completed around 1870 after several years of design and development. Though it only has 125 horsepower, it has a massive amount of torque - plenty of energy to power an arclight generator to keep the electricity buzzing.
The Tank Car
They rumbled through Korea and Vietnam, battling the Cold War in the 1950s on behalf of the United States. Developed by Detroit Arsenal, the M-47 Patton Tank combined the turret from the problematic T-42 with the hull of the M-46. They were frequently deployed by NATO to global hotspots and even used as target practice in the 1970s once they had outlived their usefulness on the battlefield. The heart of an M-47 tank, the AV-1790-5B engine, now beats out 800 horsepower, a number equal to five 350 Chevys, inside Jay Leno's legendary "tank car."
1932 Duesenberg SJ
The SJ's supercharged straight-eight engine provides 325 horsepower, letting drivers hit a top speed of 130 mph, though the car is a great cruiser and provides a comfortable ride at 70 mph for modern freeway driving. And with a great braking system, surprising fuel efficiency, and technology that was advanced for its day, the Duesenberg SJ can actually rival modern cars of a similar class.
1956 Chevy Nomad
From 1955 to 1957, the Chevy Nomad helped define the emerging Southern California surf culture. The two-door station wagon sported a unique style and a body shared with its sister car, the Pontiac Halo. The design changed to a four-door model in 1958 and continued until 1961 when the line was dropped. Since then, the car has reappeared several times in altered styles, but the true Nomad, like the one owned by Dave Killackey, is the mid-50's model that ruled the Southern California coast for a brief, but magical period of time.