Before he was the host of the Tonight Show, and before he made a living as a stand-up comedian, Jay Leno worked in a car dealership that sold, among other things, BMWs. But Leno was always a car guy, and now that he no longer hangs out on late-night television, he gets to spend more time with his extensive and enviable car collection. He even has time to film a web and TV program that airs on CNBC. In fact, the show—called Jay Leno's Garage—won a 2016 prime time Emmy for "Outstanding Special Class — Short-Format Nonfiction Program."
One episode that recently caught our eye had Jay lamenting the fact that he wasn't having much luck getting a nice BMW, like a 2002 or 2002tii. We find that a little hard to believe since he's in Southern California.
Anyway, Jay did find a BMW to road test on Jay Leno's Garage. It's a 2008 BMW 135i; or at least, it started life as a 135i. Now it's a very heavily modified 135i that has, among other things, a BMW v8 and enough Dinan parts to warrant a Dinan badge on the back. This car belongs to local owner Marco Svizzero and it's his first BMW. Nothing like jumping into the deep end without a life preserver.
The engine is a Dinan-built stroker 4.6-liter V8 that now approaches 502 horsepower. In a 1 Series, that has to be wild. And loud with straight pipes. The owner says it's street legal though, but it still—wisely—has a roll cage and enough aero, suspension, and brakes to handle the power. Probably.
Sit back and enjoy Jay Leno in his role as car show host as he road tests the BMW 1 Series most of us wish we could afford to build.—Scott Blazey
[Photo and video courtesy of Jay Leno's Garage.]
