Jay Leno just picked up his new Corvette and posted a little video of its reception on Jay Leno's Garage. As you might expect based on some of his other vehicles, this isn't just any Corvette. No, it's a ZR1. Jay gives us a quick walk-around of the vehicle and points out the unique touches make this the most powerful Corvette ever. He even offers up some trivia, letting us in on the little known fact that the clearcoat used on the ZR1 costs $60,000/gallon. After the tour, Jay takes his newest addition out for a spin and shows off some of the steak behind the sizzle. Our favorite line? Jay tells us that repairs are relatively simple for the Corvette in his own unique way.
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The Lamborghini Countach is the poster child for the modern Italian supercar. Literally. If you're of a certain age (and there are a few of us here at Autoblog who are), you probably had a series of Countach posters on your bedroom wall throughout your formative years. Put simply, the Countach was awesome. Still is, too. The clean-looking LP400 cars, as shown above, are simply gorgeous. Successive updates added visual muscle, but the basic goodness remained the same. (And yes, the 25th Anniversary car's cheese-slicer grates are an abomination.) While the Countach is capable of being outperformed by a number of modern, far less exotic sports cars, none of them carry its overwhelming wow factor (or the excellent bold oblique lamborghini logo) Roll up in a Z06 or 911 Turbo today and no one will bat an eyelash, despite their being world-class machines. Arrive in a Countach, however, and you have an event on your hands. That's just how it is. Always was. Always will be.
Jay Leno, no surprise, has a Countach -- a nicely-worn, red, carbeurated '86 Quattrovalvole that once served as his daily driver and now has 70,000 miles on the clock. Obviously, he loves it, and it's the subject of the Jay Leno's Garage video we've got embedded after the jump. Jay gives a brief history of his car, which includes nuggets such as his deletion the rear wing because he thought it was stupid. (And really, it is. These cars look so much better without it.) Make sure you watch the whole thing. If you bail early you'll miss the ending. And really, who wants to miss Countach burnouts?
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We have a lot of respect for Jay Leno. Not only because he owns some seriously impressive cars, but because he actually drives them. Sure, we're a bit jealous, but even more so after watching him drive the SSC Ultimate Aero, the Guinness-certified fastest production car in the world. As you might expect, Leno was initially skeptical of the American-built supercar, but after close inspection and a stint behind the wheel he was truly impressed. The video also has some interesting info, including the news that SSC plans to build more cars -- a 220 mph four-door sedan as well as the world's fastest "green" supercar. Considering what SSC did with the Ultimate Aero, we wouldn't put it past them, but we're skeptical nonetheless. Follow the jump to watch the video.
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Looks like late night television's most famous car nut is the latest person to fall under the spell of the new Dodge Challenger SRT-8. Autoblog friend Delbert Shoopman says he was walking around the NBC lot in Burbank and happened upon one black Challenger parked directly across from the Tonight Show studio. Further snooping revealed a Jay Leno parking tag on the spot (above). We snooped a bit ourselves and found a blurb on Chrysler's internal blog, Firehouse, where they talk about Jay's latest acquisition.
Seems Jay picked it up yesterday at Valley Dodge in Van Nuys. It will join his 1970 Challenger among the hundreds of other cars in Leno's Garage when he isn't driving it around the Valley or stopping off at local car meets. We'll keep an eye out for him at Bob's Big Boy and VCR to see what he thinks of his latest toy. We're guessing he will get quite a kick out of it, with its 425-hp Hemi V8 and retro-mod good looks. Drive it in good health, Jay.
Autoblog is brimming with proof that Jay Leno is the luckiest car guy in the world. His legendary garage is only attainable in our wildest dreams, so when something like a Nissan finds its way (temporarily) into his stable, it deserves note.
The latest installment of Jay Leno's Garage is dedicated to the Nissan GT-R, with the late-night talk show host poring over the details and grilling Nissan's product planner, John Weiner, on what makes the GT-R special. The range of topics includes all the stats you've already memorized, Nissan's efforts to quell GT-R tuning and Leno's immeasurable joy that he can check the dipstick himself. Leno maintains that it's a vehicle he could get "emotionally involved with." We agree, so without further ado... Mr. Leno, the floor is yours.
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