What The Cameras Didn't Show Us About Jay Leno's Garage

Listening to Jay Leno today, you might forget he made his career in comedy.

The late-night legend hosts a popular YouTube channel, Jay Leno's Garage, as a sort of retirement career. Aside from his affable and experienced interviewing style, one may not suspect he reigned over late-night television for over two decades. Dressed in his trademark denim, he expounds on the minutiae of auto history, revealing an astounding depth of knowledge about everything from the specifics of a mid-century Citroen carburetor to the biography of some long-forgotten auto builder. The uninformed would be forgiven for thinking he was a simple mechanic who made good.

And that's kind of what he is. After working at car dealerships as a youth, Leno made a career as a comedian, in part, it appears, to support a voracious appetite for automobiles of all types (except Ferrari — more on that later). It's not that he can't afford a Ferrari. After 22 years of hosting the Tonight Show, where he reportedly earned as much as $30 million annually, he certainly could. Leno invested his earnings wisely, funding his lifestyle by performing up to 150 stand-up shows yearly and stashing nearly all his late-night salary. But there was one arena in which he didn't mind spending money: cars and motorcycles. 

After leaving the Tonight Show in 2014, Leno dedicated himself to sharing his passion with the world. With over 180 cars and 160 motorcycles, his collection is tantamount to a world-class auto museum, and he invites nearly four million YouTube subscribers to explore the curiosities and classics he has accrued each week on Jay Leno's Garage. 

Episodes of Leno's show take viewers on a tour through the vehicle of the week, usually followed by a segment during which Leno takes it onto the road for a test drive. He shares the vehicle's history, including specific details about its design, engineering, and performance, sometimes with one of his own cars but often with a guest who brings a vehicle.

Leno manages his operation from the outskirts of the Burbank Airport north of Los Angeles, housing and maintaining over 300 vehicles. Decorated with vintage auto advertisements, the showroom is just a glimpse of the sprawling facility that comprises Leno's garage. 

Despite a career in the rare air of Hollywood, he maintains a down-to-earth, everyman demeanor. Listening to him tell it, you'd think amassing one of the finest collections and the facility to handle it almost happened by accident; "It was 17,000 feet when I got it, and it's about 122,000 feet now..." he told the L.A. Times in 2016. Much of his collection grew simply because he kept buying seldom-sold cars, which partly explains his fleet's eclectic nature. 

However it happened, calling Leno's facility a "garage" is a titanic misnomer.  Today, his facility covers 140,000 square feet across multiple former aircraft hangars, including state-of-the-art workshops, a dedicated team of expert mechanics, and a comprehensive parts inventory. This is everything you'd need to maintain an enormous fleet of priceless vehicles, each one legal, registered, and ready to hit the street at a moment's notice. 

Leno was the big boss at one of the most famous television properties of all time. While hosting the Tonight Show, he was the face and leader of a staff of 200 people. Compared to that, operating his garage might seem like small potatoes, but it still requires a dedicated staff. Leno's team ensures the smooth operation of his garage.

During his tenure at Tonight, Leno hired writers on merit, basing decisions solely on the quality of the jokes. He takes the same approach in his garage. His Chief Mechanic, Bernard Juchli, has worked for Leno for nearly 25 years. Juchli heads up a team of seven experts to maintain, repair, and restore the collection. Unlike many museum collections of this caliber, Leno demands that his vehicles be ready to drive at a moment's notice.

Given this predilection, many of Leno's vehicles require far more than ordering new parts. Good luck finding a replacement condenser for a 1925 Doble E-20 steam car at AutoZone. His employees must be fabricators, engineers, restorers, inventors, and world-class mechanics.

The fact that Leno drives his cars only adds to the wear and tear, but he wouldn't have it any other way. This hands-on approach not only keeps him connected to his collection but also sets a high standard for the maintenance and restoration work carried out in his garage.

It's a common belief that ultra-wealthy collectors don't get their hands dirty, but Jay Leno is a true grease monkey at heart. While he does have a full-time staff run by Juchli, Leno isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves and turn a wrench himself. His hands-on approach to his car collection, including designing a car with General Motors' help, is a testament to his deep passion for automobiles.

Leno and his team developed a one-of-one concept known as the EcoJet. Keeping only the brakes, front suspension, and transmission of an old Corvette Z06, Leno, his Chief Mechanic Bernard Juchli, and fabricator Jim Hall devised an all-new frame and chassis made from ultra-lightweight kevlar, carbon fiber, and aluminum. Leno took inspiration from his Chrysler Turbine for a powerplant, installing a 650 hp Honeywell LT-101 turbine that runs on nonfood sourced biodiesel.

Leno can often be found beneath a car, and he suffers for his art. In November 2022, he was fixing a clogged gas line on his 1907 White Motor Co steam car when a stream of pressurized fuel ignited by a pilot light hit him in the face. He spent a week in the hospital with severe burns, but it didn't keep him away from his collection for long.

He claims he scored his first job as a lot boy at Foreign Motors in Boston by walking in and telling the mechanics he was the new kid. He worked for three days before the truth came out, but he must have made a good impression because he kept the job.

Part of the gig included delivering cars, often to wealthy clients in New York City. He combined his passions by finding ways to make a delivery when there was an audition or an open mic opportunity for his comedy. Pursuing his passions simultaneously clearly worked out for him, though he recalls some imprudence in his youth.

He once delivered a Rolls Royce to Hell's Kitchen, accepting a payment of $34,000 cash in a paper sack. He promptly took off for an open mic set in Manhattan, leaving the sack of cash on a piano while he performed. He was about an hour outside New York when he realized he didn't have the money. After what must have been a tense drive back, he found the bag right where he'd left it. No word on whether he ever made that mistake again, but we doubt it!

Leno seems singularly affable, but that doesn't mean you can go waltzing into his garage uninvited. With an enormous public profile and a collection valued north of $52 million, keeping unwanted oglers out of his facility is mighty important. 

Leno's collection is meticulously secured with over 45 cameras, providing 180 and 360-degree views of every inch of his property. The feed can be checked from a phone app, and if that's not enough, 24/7 security is on-site, ready to handle any potential threats.

Though Los Angeles' mild and dry climate provides a perfect environment for aging vehicles, the risk of wildfire and earthquake looms over the operation. Jay keeps them well-insured in case of a disaster. His premium just for the cars he owns comes out to $45,250 – per month! One, his 1994 McLaren F1, is so valuable that insurance companies forbid owners from gathering more than three under one roof, even at the McLaren facility, due to an average value of over $18 million.  Experts estimate Leno's total annual insurance bill totals over a million dollars.

Leno's collection is not just about cars; it's a treasure trove of unique motors. His helicopter turbine-powered MTT 420-RR motorcycle, along with the EcoJet and Chrysler Turbine, showcase a fascination with engines that transcends the automotive world.

It may be a coincidence that his shop is adjacent to an airport. The Hollywood Burbank Airport was once a center for defense aviation manufacturing, with Boeing and Lockheed keeping facilities for building warplanes there before the Second World War.

"There's no such thing as too much power or torque," Leno once told Smithsonian Magazine, and he meant it. His collection houses several aircraft-engine-powered vehicles. In addition to the turbines, he has a 1915 Hispano Suiza with a 300 hp World War I-era 8F aero engine, a 1917 Fiat chassis with a 21.7-liter in-line six-cylinder, a 1921 Mercedes Benz housing a 230 hp 18.8-liter engine rescued from a crashed fighter plane, a 1930 Bentley and 1934 Rolls-Royce with Merlin engines straight out of World War II fighters like the Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, and North American P-51 Mustang.

Leno's third Merlin doesn't currently have a home inside a chassis, but Leno will sometimes run the supercharged 27-liter V-1650-1 on its mobile test stand. He just has to make sure it's chained down first.

Don't get us wrong — Leno features Ferraris on his show. He regularly brings Ferrari collector David Lee on to showcase his outstanding collection, and the author once personally saw him on the streets of Burbank behind the wheel of a Ferrari SF90. Leno freely admits his teenage dream car was a 275 GTB/4. He just doesn't own any.

The main reason is the way the prancing horse sells its cars. When Leno went to purchase a Ferrari F40 when they were first coming out, his local dealer informed him that he couldn't. Ferrari put a policy in place that only people who owned a previous Ferrari could get on the list. Additionally, Ferrari demanded that anyone who wanted to sell one of its cars must first offer it to the dealership.

It may have been surprising at the time, but other companies have since adopted similar policies. Ford demands buyers sign a contract stating they won't sell their Ford GT before two years of ownership, and Porsche fans must meet allocation requirements before qualifying to buy a GT3. The companies hoped such policies would reduce speculation and flipping cars for investment, but at the time, it rubbed the comedian the wrong way.

The dealer kindly offered to get Leno qualified by selling him a Mondial or some other lesser machine. Leno said no and never looked back. While his garage hosts Lamborghinis, Fiats, and Maseratis, it isn't home to any Ferraris.

Leno's approach to automobiles is undeniably egalitarian. His show certainly has its own share of VIPs, from professional drivers to celebrities to corporate executives promoting a company's latest and greatest, but you don't have to be a major collector or movie star to get your own episode. 

Leno's insatiable curiosity makes him a regular presence at auto shows, and not just exclusive ones. If he sees a car that piques his interest, he'll invite the owner onto the show to talk about it. He once waited around to meet the owner of a 1973 Mazda RX3 restomod that caught his eye in a parking lot, inviting him to share the car (pictured above) on the show. He's even invited firemen and police officers on his show to discuss fire trucks and cop cars, which he naturally owns a few of. Unlike on the Tonight Show, you don't need a publicist or a movie deal to get some screen time on Jay Leno's Garage. It's enough to be a gearhead with an interesting ride. 

If anything, Leno's passion for cars casts a wide net in his collection and show. His knowledge, love, and curiosity shine through with every episode. The amiable persona and gentle sense of humor that made him such a success on the Tonight Show make Jay Leno's Garage an excellent way for auto enthusiasts to get up close and personal with some seriously cool cars.