Jay Leno is not just famous for being a late-night television legend. Among the people who take cars seriously, he carries a very different kind of clout. He has driven the current-generation Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X, and the Ford Mustang GTD, which already puts him in rare company. What makes it even more impressive is that he actually owns two of those three. The ZR1X and the GTD both live in his legendary garage in Burbank, California, and yes, he drove both of them to form his own opinions.
That garage, which he calls “Big Dog,” is more than just a place to park expensive cars. It is a multi-hangar compound filled with over 180 motorcycles, steam-powered vehicles, electric rarities, and some of the most historically significant machines ever built. But spending time there reveals something else entirely. The walls are covered in massive, hand-painted canvases based on vintage automotive magazine covers, classic racing posters, and clever period advertisements. Leno commissioned all of it from set artists he befriended during his two decades hosting The Tonight Show, turning his garage into something that feels as much like a museum as a working collection.
Leno recently sat down for a second appearance on MotorTrend’s video podcast, The InEVitable, and the conversation covered everything from Nurburgring lap records to electric semi-trucks to the fight to preserve classic car ownership rights in California. His first appearance on the show, recorded three years ago, remains the most-watched episode in the podcast’s 140-episode history. Based on everything discussed in round two, this one has a real shot at taking that title.
The thing that makes Leno genuinely different from other celebrity car collectors is not the size of the collection or the price tags attached to it. It is the depth of knowledge sitting behind all of it. He can talk about internal combustion engineering, steam technology, early electric vehicles, and modern EV startups without missing a beat. He is not reciting talking points. He actually knows this stuff, and it shows every time he opens his mouth about anything with wheels.
Jay Leno Is Fighting for California Classic Car Owners
Before diving into the cars themselves, the conversation turned to something Leno feels strongly about: what has become known as Leno’s Law. The official name is California State Bill 1392, and it represents a bipartisan effort by two California state senators to exempt certain classic cars from smog check requirements. For anyone who owns or has tried to restore an older vehicle in California, this issue is not abstract. Smog regulations that make perfect sense for daily drivers become genuinely difficult to navigate when applied to cars that were never designed to meet modern emissions standards.
Leno is the highest-profile celebrity to publicly support the measure, and he does not treat it like a soft celebrity endorsement. He has genuine reasons for backing it, and he explains them directly on the podcast. Classic cars represent a tiny fraction of total vehicle miles traveled in California, and most of them sit in garages rather than commute lanes. The argument is that the environmental impact of exempting them is minimal, while the cultural and preservation benefits are significant.
What It Is Actually Like to Drive a Corvette ZR1X and a Mustang GTD
Leno’s takes on the ZR1X and the Mustang GTD carry extra weight precisely because he has driven both, owns both, and has enough reference points from decades of driving remarkable cars to actually put them in context. He is not comparing them to a rental car or a previous-generation Camry. He is comparing them to some of the most capable performance vehicles ever made, because he has driven most of them.
The conversation on the podcast gets into what each car does well, how they behave on the road, and what the experience of living with them is actually like rather than just what a brief press event can reveal. It also touches on the ongoing fascination with Nurburgring lap records and what they do and do not actually tell you about a car. Leno has enough experience to have a nuanced view on that particular topic, and he shares it.
Leno on EVs, Startups, and Driving Tesla’s Semi
For someone whose collection is rooted in internal combustion history, Leno has always been surprisingly open-minded about electric vehicles. He recently got behind the wheel of Tesla’s electric semi-truck and talked about that experience on the podcast. He has also been paying attention to newer American EV startups including Telo and Slate, which are trying to carve out their own space in a market that is simultaneously crowded and still evolving.
He also discussed Czinger, the California-based company using 3D printing and hybrid powertrains to build some of the most technically ambitious performance cars on the planet. Czinger fits neatly into Leno’s worldview because it combines engineering ambition with American manufacturing, which is a combination he genuinely respects. His interest in these newer ventures is not performative. He asks the right questions because he already understands how the technology works.
What This Conversation Teaches Us About Being a Real Car Person
There is a version of car enthusiasm that is mostly about ownership and bragging rights. Leno represents something different. He has clearly put in the hours to understand not just what cars do but why they do it, how they were built, and what they mean within the broader history of transportation. The fact that he can discuss a 1906 steam car and a 2026 twin-turbo supercar with equal fluency is not an accident. It is the result of decades of genuine curiosity.
The lesson for anyone paying attention is that the collection matters less than the knowledge behind it. Leno’s garage is extraordinary, but the more impressive thing is that he could tell you something interesting and accurate about nearly every object in it. That combination of passion and actual learning is what separates a true enthusiast from someone who simply has the means to buy impressive things. It is also, not coincidentally, why his YouTube channel and podcast appearances continue to draw audiences even after all these years.