Jay Leno Gets His Hands on Vehicle That Has Eluded Him for 30 Years

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Jay Leno’s love of cars is legendary. And while his personal garage is packed with approximately 180 different cars and 160 motorcycles, there’s one vehicle that has taken the former The Tonight Show host more than 30 years to get his hands on.

In the newest edition of Jay Leno’s Garage, the comedian can hardly contain his excitement about finally being allowed to get behind the wheel of a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E Evo II. At first glance, the vehicle looks like what it technically is: an early ‘90s luxury vehicle… until you notice the prominent rear wing. 

Leno, in introducing the vehicle, calls it one of “the primo cars of the 1990s” and explains that it was designed to widen the gap between Mercedes-Benz and its biggest rival. “This was the BMW Killer,” he says of the vehicle’s nickname. 

The model, which was released in 1990, was specifically built to compete in the DTM, or German Touring Car Masters, which is just one of the reasons Leno has been itching to take it for a spin for more than 30 years. “This is a car that has eluded me since the day it came out,” the host admitted.

Leno’s guest, Sean O’Donnell, general manager of Audrain Motorsport in Newport, Rhode Island, spoke with the host about the unique model, which was only in production for one year. 

“I have to admit, I was a bit of a snob,” Leno said of his initial reaction to the car and its 4-cylinder engine, which was seemingly much less powerful than its fellow Mercedes-Benz vehicles at the time. But he began reading about them, and his interest was piqued. Unfortunately, “by the time I really got interested, they were gone,” Leno said of the limited production. 

That the car has proved to be such a challenge for Leno to find is not all that surprising: only about 500 of the cars were made at the time, and all of them for the European market. But it didn’t take long for Leno to remark who the car really “punched above its weight.”

At the time of its release, according to autoevolution, the Evo II sold for $85,000, which would be just over $200,000 today—and they’ve more than held their value. With so few examples of the vehicle in existence today, a car in good condition would easily sell for $500,000, and can easily top $700,000.

Leno, of course, was ready to slip into the driver’s seat and test the ride out. While O’Donnell was ready to celebrate the vehicle’s origin and go get some strudel, the comedian just wanted to put his foot on the gas. 

O’Donnell explained that, even today, when people are viewing his company’s car collection, the  Evo II is the one that stops many of them in their tracks.

“The more I drive this, the more I like this,” Leno said. “It’s actually a lot of fun.” Plus, said Leno—as he sped through the streets—‘It’s fun to use all the power all the time.”