Owning some of the most exclusive cars ever produced, gearhead Jay Leno richly deserves every car in his collection, helping to preserve some of the great motoring icons.
Of course, we all have a little envy of his garage, few other collectors can boast of some of the fastest, most expensive, and rarest cars ever produced. But this form of envy is different, Jay Leno not only collects cars, but he also cherishes every one of them no matter how obscure or previously unloved, almost providing a service to gearheads everywhere keeping rare icons on the road. In addition, he has showcased several crazy cars on his show Jay Leno's Garage
10 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car - Awesome Noise, Low Power Output
Few carmakers have experimented with turbine engines, only Chrysler taking the next step producing a small run of production vehicles in 1963. Overly complicated starting procedures seen as a major stumbling along with poor acceleration finally spelling the end of the Turbine Car project, just 50 examples were completed for road use.
The program wasn't without benefits, turbines able to burn a wider range of fuels and once at higher engine speeds offering vastly superior efficiency. Higher efficiency had its drawbacks, needing to reach engine speeds approaching 60,000rpm producing excessive noise and emissions with a relatively low power output of 130hp.
9 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita - Complex Construction Process Limited Numbers
Ultra rare even by Koenigsegg standards, just two CCXR Trevitas exist, one of which belongs to serial gearhead Jay Leno. Evolving from the standard car, CCXR Trevita boasts an incredible 4.8-liter supercharged V8, developing a colossal 1000hp and 797lb-ft of torque, flat out exceeding 249mph.
The complexity of Koenigseggs carbon-fiber construction process responsible for the limited numbers of Trevita spec cars, a process where fiber stands are specially treated giving a unique white appearance.
8 Blastolene Special - Tank Powered Roadster
Special doesn't quite do Jay Leno's "Tank Car" the justice it deserves, everything about this one-off unique road-going monster is massive. Physically enormous measuring over 6 meters in length, tipping the scales, and 9,500lbs making the Blastoelene specials top speed of 140mph all the more impressive.
Unofficially called Tank Car due to its engine, Continental's V12 AV1790 borrowed from a Patton M47 Tank, in current turbocharged form producing 1600hp, and yes Blastolene is road legal and can often be seen on the streets of Los Angeles.
7 1953 Cunningham C3 Continental Coupe - Italian Flair And American Muscle
Product of Briggs Cunningham's desire to compete at Le Mans, required to manufacture a minimum of 25 cars leading to one of the 1950s most underrated cars. Built around Chrysler's 5.4-liter Firepower V8 capable of producing 235hp, C3 Coupes provided effortless cruising even at speeds into treble figures.
Beautiful Italian styling and craftsmanship driving up production cost much higher than the already expensive $10,000 sale price, production never quite managed to reach the 50 examples per year with only 27 chassis completed.
6 GM EcoJet - Priceless Collaboration Project
Few gearheads can imagine calling up General Motors with the crazy idea of building another turbine car, and yet Jay Leno did just that resulting in the unique Ecojet concept. Worth every effort for bragging rights alone, no other car boasts a Honeywell LTS101 turbine normally found in helicopter applications.
Equipped with two separate fuel tanks, running on either bio-diesel or kerosene resulting in 650hp driving through its automatic transmission geared for speeds up to 245mph. Specially designed by Jay Leno himself, Ecojet remains a one-off project impossible to value due to its uniqueness.
5 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Stinger - Not As Unsafe At Any Speed
For many gearheads, Corvair will be remembered for its much-publicized handling problems as a result of cost-cutting by Chevrolet executives, however not all Corvairs were bad. Car dealer Don Yenko set out to build a Chevrolet for road racing, the resulting Yenko Stingers being rare and highly sought after.
Official productions numbers are a little vague with 185 examples claimed to have been built, later Stage III models boasting more powerful 220hp engines in Class D racing trim. Jay Leno's garage plays home to an earlier 190hp Stage II model, still a very capable classic car.
4 1994 McLaren F1 - Jay Leno's Favorite Carmaker
Confessed McLaren fan Jay Leno claiming the UK supercar maker is his favorite, a claim backed up by his collection of McLaren road cars, none more so than the rare 1994 F1. Groundbreaking design and attention to every detail making the F1 legendary, at the time the fastest car in the world, and still the fastest naturally aspirated road car ever.
Combining F1 carbon-fiber construction, Gordon Murray's engineering expertise, and of course BMW's monstrous 627hp V12 engine to produce a 231mph road-going race car. Whatever the deciding factor, just 106 F1's were produced, at the time listed for $850,000, today fetching $12 million-plus.
3 Jensen C-V8 - Quirky British GT With American V8 Muscle
Luckily for Jensen looks aren't everything, discerning owners ordering C-V8's choosing to ignore quirky styling in favor of the performance afforded by Chevrolet sourced big-block V8 engines. Following company tradition C-V8s sporting fiber-glass bodies contributing to the excellent performance claims, 60mph taking 5.7 seconds, much faster than many exotic supercars of the time.
Fewer than 50o Jensen C-V8's were completed, Jay Leno finding his right-hand-drive example purely by accident, initially in search of a classic Aston Martin.
2 1913 Mercer Model 35J Raceabout - Early Stripped Out Racer
Modern carmakers like gearhead to think lightweight sportscars are a new thing, however, US Based Mercer started the trend with the successful Model 35J Raceabout over a hundred years earlier. Raceabout a two-seat stripped-down speedster wearing the absolute minimum of any bodywork setting the standard for rivals claiming hundreds of victories.
Safe performance is one of the criteria behind the Model 35R's design, capable of prolonged use at speeds exceeding 70mph, in truth able to reach near 100mph largely due to its in-line 4.8-liter four-cylinder engine producing 55hp.
1 1925 Doble Steam Car - Most Advanced Steam Car Produced Too Late
Mention steam power and most gearheads will automatically think of the long-drawn-out process of lighting boilers, waiting for steam to build, etc, Doble Stream car is different, almost modern in its approach. An early form of electronic ignition taking care of getting things going, once up and running producing 150hp along with 2200ft-lbs of torque, no gears just seamless acceleration.
Highly innovative design comes with its own issues, at the time Ford producing Model T's for $260, by comparison, Doble Steam Cars costing $10,000 at a time when internal combustion had already taken over from steam.