One of the most popular car guys in the world is Jay Leno. Known mostly as the former host of late-night comedy TV, Leno has some incredible classic trucks.
Once done with late-night television, Leno turned to his passion for cars and collecting some of the most incredible vehicles in the world. It’s not unusual for comedians to be car collectors; both Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen are also well-known famous comedians, actors, and car guys. Leno probably has the most comprehensive collection, and his collection became the subject of a popular show called Jay Leno’s Garage.
Here are ten of the classic trucks in this extensive collection.
1931 Ford Model A
The Model A came after the venerable Model T to be a fitting successor to the first affordable car in history. The Model A was offered in coupe, cab, and pickup builds, offering a work truck that is part of the Jay Leno collection. The Model A also took things further than the previous Model T. Instead of only one color; the Model A was offered in four colors to expand upon the black-only Model T.
1941 American LaFrance Series 600 Pumper V12 Firetruck
If this big firetruck pulled up next to some other older-model trucks, it might still seem out of place. This is easily one of the most incredible classic trucks in the collection, showcasing what firefighting was like in the 1940s. This big truck has all the bells and whistles from the time it was in service, to make it a great vehicle to put out fires and use a massive V12 for some driving power.
1961 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside
The 1960s was a time of innovation, and nothing seemed quite as innovative as this Corvair Rampside truck. This truck delivers a rear-engine, air-cooled setup to build a truck in a similar fashion to what VW offered. The cool-looking ruck has the cab-forward design we associate with models that offer the engine in the rear. In some ways, this truck sparked some of the innovation and inspiration for the 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle. If you see this truck in Jay Leno’s collection, you’ll instantly fall in love with the classic style and useful build.
2000 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson
One of the rarest classic trucks in Jay Leno’s collection is this F-150. Not technically a classic yet, it’s a rare truck that brings a strong 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine, which wasn’t originally offered in the early versions of the Harley-Davison truck. This engine for this special truck comes from the F-150 Lightning of the time, and it’s been put up at auction by Jay for $200,000 in support of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
2023 Sam Walton F-150 Lightning Tribute
This is a special truck that pays homage to Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Instead of driving a top-end luxury cruiser from Rolls-Royce, Sam chose to drive a 1979 Ford F-150 custom so he would have a place for his tools. This specially commissioned truck is brand new, but it wears the classic garb to give it the same styling as the original truck driven by Walton. The tribute truck comes with polished hubcap wheels and candy paint, giving it that special appearance not found in any other truck.
1968 Ford Bronco Restomod
A stock Ford Bronco doesn’t seem to fit Jay Leno’s style, but this 1968 model gifted to him by Craig Ferguson in 2014 came to him as a stock model. It was turned into a Restomod and one of the coolest classic trucks in the garage when the team put a GT500 Predator engine into this amazing Bronco. They also upgraded the interior and painted it the same bright black that was found in the Model T. This is an amazing Bronco that’s ready for some trail-riding fun, but it might look too good to take it to the wilderness.
1991 GMC Syclone
Yes, Jay Leno has one of the coolest trucks of the 1990s, and it was the GMC Syclone. This amazing truck uses the same engine as the Corvette ZR1 from the time to give this truck a sprint time to 60 mph of 4.3 seconds. That’s an amazing number by today’s standard, but even more incredible considering the 1990s was an era of low power. This truck looks edgy and sporty while being an incredible machine to drive.
1950 Mercedes-Benz Transporter
This has to be one of the coolest classic trucks in Jay Leno’s garage. This truck is so cab-forward that it looks like it should fall over unless there’s a car on the rear. This truck was used during the 1950s at races to move cars between garages. The style is not what you expect to see from Mercedes-Benz, but it certainly offers the era-based look that made this truck useful at various races around the world.
1938 Studebaker K30
Long-haul drivers were thrilled when this truck arrived on the scene. Yes, even in the 1930s, just as we were heading to the end of the Great Depression, trucks were used to carry materials across the country. This truck brought a new feature which was space for the driver to sleep inside the cab. The Hercules inline-six was a naturally aspirated engine, giving this truck an impressive level of raw power. If you’re looking for an early-era semi-truck, Jay has one, and it’s this gorgeous Studebaker K30 from 1938.
1916 Autocar Coal Truck
Since 1911, Autocar has built trucks. This 1916 Coal Truck is one of the most classic trucks in the Jay Leno collection. This was a truck made to get the job done with a powerful engine and plenty of room for hauling a load. Safety wasn’t a concern at the time, which is evident when you see the driving position, which provides no protection for the driver or single passenger of this truck. Still, this truck took the idea of a cargo wagon forward to be a useful machine for the time.
These ten classic trucks are impressive and part of a car collection that should live on for many years. Which of these trucks from Jay Leno’s collection is your favorite?
