Jay Leno’s Museum

Jay Leno’s Museum

STORY

Jay Leno, a well-known comedian and TV program host, is also a serious automobile collector. His garage, located next to the Burbank Airport, is home to 181 cars and 160 motorcycles, making his car collection worth over $52 million.

Leno’s collection is eclectic, featuring everything from steam cars, turbine cars, supercars, muscle cars, race cars, and even service trucks. Some of his notable vehicles include a 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, a 2017 Ford GT, a 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing Coupe, and a 1934 Duesenberg Walker Coupe.

His favorite car in his collection is the 1972 Mercedes-Benz 600 Kompressor, and his favorite car company is McLaren. Leno’s garage is not open to the public, but he offers tours of his collection to the media.

Despite his impressive collection, Leno still owns his first car, a Buick Roadmaster, which he occasionally drives.

Leno’s collection also includes some unique vehicles, such as a vintage steam-powered car that takes 20 to 30 minutes to get up and running and a 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, which was designed to run on a gas turbine engine powered by peanut oil or salad dressing.

Leno has spent over $200,000 repairing his 1986 Lamborghini Countach, and his 1939 Lagonda V12 and 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 are valued at $2.56 million and $3.5 million, respectively. His Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita is worth an estimated $4.8 million, and his 1994 McLaren F1 is valued at $12 million.

Leno’s car collection is not just about collecting cars; it’s about preserving the history of the automobile. He believes that owning and maintaining these classic cars is essential to keeping the culture of cars alive.

 As a car photographer, I often came across Jay at a 7 am car show. He just came alone with his car of the day, he drives them all. He is the nicest car guy you ever meet and would respond to any questions asked. And he would like all others to walk around and look and ask questions. I had my 1953 Cadillac convertible at that time, and he would jokingly knock on its fender and say” now that is when they knew how to make a real American automobile”. He laugh when I told him I found it in a Hollywood backyard when it stood for 16-18 years before I dragged it out of there and restored it as my everyday driver.  He says” I love one car curator, it keeps this whole culture alive”. I of course agreed, and he invited me to come over and photo his collection when he heard I was a car photographer, so all these photos are taken by me, and I have a good friend who works there, so naturally, I photo Jay with him and his car.