What Cars Are in Jay Leno's Garage?

Original MSRP: $18,450 | Adj. for inflation: $33,996

Looking for a fun daily driver? A track day toy? A bonafide sports car that's cheaper to buy, maintain and insure than a Toyota Camry? Ask any car-focused forum, and you're bound to hear the beloved roadster's unofficial backronym: "Miata Is Always The Answer."

Jay Leno himself seems to agree. "This is all I really need," he said on an episode of Jay Leno's Garage. "Plenty of power, fun to drive, good handling." That comes from a man who put 12,000 miles on a McLaren F1.

Addressing the Miata's top criticism – its lack of acceleration – Leno said, "it's not about going fast – it's about going swiftly."

Even so, how can a roadster whose fundamentals haven't changed since 1989 continue to outsell the competition? "You can add horsepower, or you can take off weight. Taking off weight's a little better."

Original MSRP: $41,000 | Adj. for inflation: $52,014

Jay Leno may have a stable of Bentley and Lamborghini models at his disposal, but for a time, his daily driver was a humble Chevy Volt.

"It's the car I use to run errands, and when it's raining, bad weather, when I have to go to the airport. It's a great everyday car," he told the press at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Indeed, the first-gen Volt was a smash hit right out the gate. It earned a 9.7 out of 10 in our rankings, lauding its slick, futuristic interior and remarkably solid handling – a quality distinctly missing from the early hybrid market.

A decade later, when a fire risk forced GM to recall every Volt ever made, Leno rushed to the company's defense. "The last days of old technology are always better than the first days of new technology, but we’re beyond the first days of new technology," he told CNBC.

Original MSRP: $25,375 | Adj. for inflation: $36,452

Back in 2005, Leno received a surprise 55th birthday gift from Mazda: an RX-8 SHINKA special edition in a subtle-but-handsome black cherry jacket.

In their FUEL newsletter, Mazda claimed the gift was also a thank-you present for Leno's public endorsement of the risky new RX-8 platform. It was also a thank-you for his recent acquisition of the world's first rotary-powered sports car, the 1968 Mazda Cosmo Mark II.

But, despite Leno's support, the RX-8 went on to have a troubled life. Anyone seduced by the car's Ferrari-like 9000 RPM redline was eventually betrayed by the Renesis engine's notorious unreliability. As mechanics scratched their heads – unsure if it was seals or coils causing compression issues – RX-8 sales plummeted 50% year over year.

Still, the RX-8 retains cult status – and if you drive one today, I salute you.

Original MSRP: $39,171 | Adj. for inflation: $67,096

To no one's surprise, Jay owns several rare and desirable Corvettes, including a 1963 Split-Window, a 2002 Z06 with a Tiger Shark body kit and the very first 2009 ZR1 to roll off the production line in Bowling Green.

But his most modest Corvette – a regular C5 – happens to be one of his favorites, in part because of how he got it. Back in 1999, the organizers of the Indy 500 asked Jay to drive the pace car. He did, and as a thank you, they handed him the keys to a gently-used demo C5.

In his JLG episode dedicated to the C5, Jay summarizes how most Corvette owners feel when they step into the garage.

"It just looks right."

Original MSRP: $41,995 | Adj. for inflation: $59,445

The Ariel Atom is what you get when you strip all the unnecessary bits from a Miata and feed it a ghost pepper.

Originally handmade in Somerset, England, the Ariel Atom became an international sensation after it melted Jeremy Clarkson's face on Top Gear. Demand quickly rose outside of the UK, and Ariel eventually signed a deal with Brammo Motorsports in Oregon to start producing U.S. models. Jay, naturally, bought #001.

"There's no doors, there's no windshield, there's no windows, there's nothing other than what you need to go fast, handle and stop... and it does its job brilliantly," Leno explains.

Despite the Atom's exotic looks and hypercar performance, the original car sold for less than the base price of a BMW 5 Series sedan.

Original MSRP: $37,995 | Adj. for inflation: $50,539

Jay owns two of the most desirable Challengers ever built: a 2015 Hellcat and a 1970 R/T that he playfully admits "was like the scariest car in the world when I was a kid."

However, slotted between the two is his oft-forgotten, much more attainable 2008 Challenger SRT8. There's even footage of him heading to the local dealership to buy it, joking about the tedious paperwork.

Jay's 2008 Challenger was #004 off the line for the 3rd generation body style - an instant classic design that still endures today. Dodge's general "if it ain't broke" mindset towards the Challenger is clearly serving them, since the Mopar muscle car outsold both the Camaro and the Mustang in 2021.

Still, Jay's SRT8 isn't his favorite, possibly due to a missing third pedal. "It has the automatic transmission... that's OK," he says with a wince.

Original MSRP: ~$1,334 USD | Adj. for inflation: $1,679

Jay's Tato Nano isn't just the most affordable car in his collection (by far) – it's also the most affordable car on earth.

Conceived by India's Tata Motors, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, the endearing Nano was designed to give Indian families a major upgrade from a motorcycle without breaking the bank. While Jay's ritzy Nano cost around $2,700, the Nano's very first adopters in India scored theirs for as little as $1,334.

Adjusted for inflation, the Nano's base MSRP is one-sixth the price of the original Beetle and one-twentieth the price of a Model T.

Fun fact: the Nano comes with a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive and was styled in Italy – meaning it's probably the closest Jay will come to owning a Ferrari.

Original MSRP: $65,620 | Adj. for inflation: $79,006

You know things are getting serious – and the ride is going to get stiff – when car companies start putting "R" in their model names.

But the 2015 Shelby GT 350R represents more than just a stiffer Mustang with carbon fiber wheels. As Jay himself puts it, "This is really the pinnacle of Mustang development. I think this has probably the greatest engine currently being produced in America today."

Having driven a GT350R around Atlanta Motorsports Park, I can attest that the car's greatest draw isn't raw power or performance – it's the sound.

Sure, GT350Rs like Jay's are pretty unattainable now – but you can still get the same glorious engine note from its slightly more tamed stablemate, the GT350.

Original MSRP: $32,305 | Adj. for inflation: $54,237

Representing one of America's first attempts at a luxury truck, the 2000 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson edition featured an upgraded 5.4-liter Triton V8, an upscale interior and, of course, a black-and-chrome color scheme with a red pinstripe to earn its name.

And while today's top-trim F-150 Limited can command prices north of $80k, back in 2000, the HD edition cost a "mere" $54,000, adjusted for inflation.

Thanks in part to its relative affordability, the F-150 Harley-Davidson edition went on to become the luxury truck sales hit that the Lincoln Blackwood wasn't. It wasn't too shabby on performance, either, hitting 60 in 6.4 seconds, right behind the SVT Lightning's 5.2.

Technically speaking, Jay's F-150 Harley-Davidson isn't in his collection anymore. He and Ford auctioned it off in 2016, raising $200,000 for MS research in the process.

Original MSRP: $57,400 | Adj. for inflation: $71,344

"This is the car they said would never be produced," says Jay in his Model S episode from 2012.

Looking back at that walk around, it seems doubtful that either Jay or even Tesla's own Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen could have predicted what a global sensation the Model S would go on to be.

We first reviewed the Model S in 2014, and for lack of a dedicated EV category back then, we gave it the No. 1 spot in the luxury hybrid car segment.

Today's Model S is still a performance beast – especially in P100D form – but competitors are catching up. The Mercedes-Benz EQS is comfier, the Porsche Taycan handles better and both cars are better equipped with luxury features.

But even a decade on, Teslas still have that "it" factor that can't be touched.

Looking to buy one of Jay Leno's "attainable" collection pieces? To get the most value out of your budget, head over to our list of the 2022 Best Cars for the Money.

If you share Jay's enthusiasm for an electric and hybrid future, check out our list of the best hybrid cars for 2022. Alternatively, if you already have an eco-friendly daily driver, and you're looking for a six-speed weekend plaything, check out our best sports cars ranking.

The U.S. News Best Price Program is another path to a great deal and a streamlined buying process. It connects shoppers with local dealers, offering significant savings with pre-negotiated prices, home delivery and online sales options.