Jay Leno Shows Off His Favorite Ride: His 1957 Chevy Corvette
Comedian explains why his 1957 Chevrolet Corvette is one of his favorite cars in the Garage and takes it for a spin around L.A.
“This is the perfect car to go up the Pacific Coast Highway, to drive up in the hills with.” So says comedian Jay Leno of his 1957 Chevrolet Corvette in one of his latest YouTube videos of “Jay Leno’s Garage.” Published January 13 of this year, the 20-minute video has already been watched over 280,000 times.
“This is a very special car because it was ordered in 1957 by a young G.I. stationed in Korea,” Leno says of his Corvette’s history. “He went to, I guess, the base and ordered this directly from Korea so it would be waiting for him when he got home. And he wanted the fastest, most powerful, lightest Corvette you could get. So he got the soft top deleted, there is no heater, there’s no radio, there’s no courtesy lights, there’s nothing on this car that would have added any weight at all.”
The fiberglass two-seater is one of only 65 cars from that year in Inca silver color. Except for the white dashboard, the interior is orange. “It doesn’t sound like it would be appealing when you’re looking at the order sheet,” Leno admits, “but the guy must have had a pretty good eye because I think it’s really attractive: the orange and the silver.”
The original buyer ordered a removable hard top but no soft top. Why? Because he didn’t want the added mechanicals weighing it down. “He wanted it to be the fastest thing on the road,” Leno explains. “He was serious about racing it. And it really is quite a fast car.” The car came with two, four-barrel carburetors and four-speed transmission.
The timing was perfect for the young buyer. By 1957, Leno says Corevettes became more race-worthy. “This was a true sports car,” he says. “Arkus-Duntov, the genius behind Corvette, this is his baby, this is when he really got serious.”
Mike McCluskey refurbished Leno’s car. “He’s our Corvette restorer extraordinaire,” Leno says. “This was his baby. Everything here is 1957. From the windshield to the generator to every part of it. This is exactly as it left the factory.” Except for the mag wheels and tires.
Popping the hood of his historical vehicle, Leno admits the motor is a bit dirty. “The engine compartment is not pristine because this is a working, driving car,” Leno explains. “We use this one a lot.” The only thing not stock on the engine is the fan clutch that disengages the fan above 15 or 20 miles per hour. “And of course it has a modern battery because we drive this thing,” Leno adds.
And that’s just what he does next. In his black leather Corvette jacket, Leno takes the Vette for a spin around the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.
“This thing is fast even by modern standards,” Leno says. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like in 1957. I mean, you still had cars from the ’30s on the street in 1957.”
With its 270 horsepower, Leno says the car is, power wise, equal to any of the exotics or Ferraris of the period. With its clean lines and European styling, the 1957 Corvette is classic, pure design, Leno says. “To me, [it’s] one of the best-looking Corvettes of all time.”
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