Monterey 2008: Leno's Tank Car storms Pebble Beach
Click above for high-res gallery of Jay's Tank Car in Monterey
We were as surprised as anyone to see Jay Leno's name on the entry list for this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Then we saw that he would be arriving in a 1953 Chrysler. As nice as 1953 Chryslers may be, Jay's is pretty special. It's an imposing custom hot rod that is powered by a 28.4-liter Chrysler built tank engine. Most people call it the Tank Car, and last year this time it was on display across the country at the Woodward Dream Cruise. The heart of the Tank Car is the 1792 cid V-12 Continental-designed, Chrsyler-built tank engine that in turbocharged form puts out something like 1,600 hp and 3,000 ft-lbs. of torque. The engine alone weighs 2,000 lbs and easily qualifies Jay's car in this year's featured 20+ liter class.
While performance isn't this car's main goal, it can scoot along pretty well with all of that power being routed through an Allison 6-speed transmission. Switching from the original 3-speed trans doubled Leno's gas mileage, which now stands at around 5 mpg. As bad as that might seem, it comes across as almost reasonable when you hear it guzzles 80 quarts of oil every time Jay swings through a Jiffy Lube. We have to admit that we were among the many fans who rushed to see the car as Jay entered the Pebble Beach fairway. It's really a spectacular sight, even at an event that is known to stop even seasoned auto afficianados in their tracks every few seconds.
Gallery: Jay Leno's Tank Car at Pebble Beach
Photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
koloth44 4:39PM (8/18/2008)
Wow, you could conquer France with a car like that!
I'd love to see/hear it in action. Video?
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Brent 4:50PM (8/18/2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQHRNeY9zUU
Benfolio 10:39PM (8/18/2008)
Ooorrrrrr pop in Gran Turismo 4 and take a cruise. Thing's awesome at the 'Ring :P
Bill 4:39PM (8/18/2008)
Awesome machine and at 5 MPG, only the truly well-to-do can afford to take a cruise in this baby. But it seems that Jay has problems seeing over the front of the machine. Which design is causing this problem; the radiator up front or his chin? ;)
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Clarence Young 4:41PM (8/18/2008)
I could be that cool if I had the money. Gotta love Leno.
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Allan 4:51PM (8/18/2008)
Bet you have to be careful about dangling your arm out the "window." Holy crap...
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Kodd 4:52PM (8/18/2008)
I wonder if he drives that thing in and out of tunnels.
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Mario 5:32PM (8/18/2008)
I hope that he does not get in a crash right before a bus of cheerleaders come. ;)
RLQ 5:27PM (8/18/2008)
I wonder what the top speed of the tank car is?
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Torrent 4:56PM (8/18/2008)
"Switching from the original 3-speed trans doubled Leno's gas mileage, which now stands at around 5 mpg."
The gas mileage is doubled? At 5 MPG? ROFLMAO
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BigMcLargeHuge 5:01PM (8/18/2008)
And in a 2-ton car no less.
What about when this was installed in a 30-ton tank?
Probably about 5 gallons/km. Madness!
That One Person 7:11PM (8/18/2008)
Big...if I am not mistaken, this thing weighs around 9k lbs.
BigMcLargeHuge 9:09AM (8/19/2008)
Touche.
homunculus 4:58PM (8/18/2008)
finally a car that makes his chin look small.
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nardi 5:10PM (8/18/2008)
The car behind this in the pictures looks to have a Rolls Royce Merlin engine in it, between the two of them there must be enough power to stop the world turning.
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Zane 5:36PM (8/18/2008)
Am I the only one who thinks Jay has only one pair of casual clothes? For God sake Leno, wear something else!
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JZeke 5:52PM (8/18/2008)
20+ liter class!
How machines are out there that are eligible??
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Carlos 6:13PM (8/18/2008)
A lot of commercial trucks have 20 liters lol.
MajorGeek 5:53PM (8/18/2008)
Wow, I was laughing to myself that someone would bitch about gas mileage, and sadly a handful of you had to. Once again, this car is not for driving to work every day and some of us can afford the gas in our exotic and classic cars. We simply do not care about mpg, we love our cars.
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Xcountryflyer 6:04PM (8/18/2008)
Gotta love the typical summer doom and gloom of fog in the Monterey Bay arear. Jackets in the summer needed.
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