Alex Carson
Jerry Seinfeld loves three things a little more than the average person: Comedy, Coffee, and Cars. He’s reached the top of the world when it comes to the first one, having gone from stand-up comedian to creator of one of the best and most successful sitcoms of all time. And with the money he’s made from that (with a net worth rumored to be in the range of $1 Billion) he’s been able to buy all the cars and coffee he could ever want.
In fact, he has so much of those two, he created his show, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” which allowed him to ride around all day with his comedy friends, showing off his car collection, drinking coffee, and enjoying each other’s’ company. In this video, we’re taking a look at some fun facts about Jerry’s car collection, as well as a glimpse of some of the many cars he owns. So stick around, as Facts Verse presents: At 68, This is the Car That Jerry Seinfeld Drives Today!
Jerry’s Is A Porsche Man
It’s a well-known fact that Jerry loves Porsches. They make up a huge percentage of his collection, and are the most likely brand he’ll go to whenever he’s looking to buy a new car. He’s maintained a fantastic relationship with the company, and for good reason. He’s constantly seen in their cars, has had them on his show many times, and is generally a great ambassador for their company. In fact, Jerry has reportedly owned up to 46 different Porsche models over the years. And that includes incredibly rare ones like the very first 911, made in 1963. Jerry is well known for being a neat freak (a quality that he played comedically for his role on Seinfeld) so it comes as no surprise that he admires the minimalistic designs of Porsches. He has said that he also loves the efficiency of their cars, as well as their aerodynamic nature.
He Likes Other Cars Too
But Jerry isn’t a “Porsche ONLY” kind of guy. His car collection sports a variety of makes, models, and brands. He’s also not a guy who will only buy new cars, or only buy classic cars. He’s got a great mix of cars from every era. And to be honest, he’s not even a stickler for cars that are in pristine condition. Over the years, he’s owned cars in various states of disrepair. Usually he’ll pay to have them fixed up, but often it’s just so they can be driven. He doesn’t seem to have a need to make a vintage car look like something it’s not. But he also is totally fine buying a brand new car off the line if it suits him.
Sometimes He Sells!
Seinfeld is a collector, not a hoarder. That’s an important distinction, because while he does have more cars than he could ever know what to do with, he doesn’t ONLY buy. He gets rid of cars from time to time too, so he’s not simply hoarding them. In 2016, for example, Jerry put up several for auction. Not surprisingly, they were all purchased. The total sale amounted to $22 million. We aren’t sure how much Jerry paid originally for those cars, but it’s safe to say he probably made a nice profit.
The sale was for 18 cars, including 16 Porsches. The other two were Volkswagens. His 1975 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC went for $2.3 million alone, and his 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder went for $3 million! But that wasn’t even the most expensive sale. Jerry had a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder that was coveted by car enthusiasts and Porsche fanatics everywhere. The 550 is a lightweight sports car with a Type 547 flat-4 engine. It goes 0-60 in just about seven seconds, and makes for a fantastic drive. It went to one lucky owner who threw down $5.3 million for it.
Just Say No… To Lexus
Even though he will branch out from his favorite, Porsche, there is a brand that Jerry seemingly has it out for: Lexus. In an interview, he once talked about how Lexus cars literally make him “very upset and angry.” He also joked that their biggest contribution to the world of cars is that they have perfected how to make a “coffin on wheels.” It’s a hilarious sentiment, and one many Lexus owners probably wouldn’t agree with. Especially ones who pull up next to Seinfeld, like the time that happened while he was filming Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. In the episode, Jerry was interviewing another famous car collector, Jay Leno. A Lexus pulled up in the next lane as they were filming. The driver revved his engine, annoying Jerry and further cementing his hatred of the brand.
One of Two
Perhaps the rarest Porsche in his collection is the 2000 Carrera GT. It was actually developed by the company to strictly be a racing car. They unveiled the concept at the 2000 Paris Motor Show. And then they ended up making a version that was a street legal model. However, they only ever made two of them. Seinfeld has one. He actually tried to sell it in that 2016 auction, but it was odd lt didnt sell. Maybe because it’s a little TOO valuable.
Jerry Has Patience
In 1996, Jerry picked up a 1964 Porsche 911. The only problem was, it was in far from good condition. But he threw down $400K for it anyway, determined to restore it back to it’s original state. He was also probably charmed by who he was buying it from: none other than Ferry Porsche. Ferry is an engineer and a designer.
Oh, and he also happens to be the son of the founder of Porsche. Jerry had it shipped to Cavaglieri Restorations in Germany after buying it. But the very gruelling and specific nature of this particular restoration meant it would take a lof of money and time. Jerry clearly had both. He put down another $250K for the restoration, and it took nearly five years to complete. Eventually it was roadworthy again, and Jerry was very satisfied with his purchase. It’s not every day you can say you bought a car from a descendant of that car brand’s founder.
Jerry Bought a Literal Building for his Cars
Jerry has an inherent conflict when it comes to his passion for New York City and his passion for collecting cars: There’s simply not enough space on the streets to keep them all. Plus, he doesn’t want these high-end vehicles just out for the public to mess with. So he solved the problem like a billionaire. He bought a small building and turned into a garage for his cars. 138 West 83rd street went from being an old apartment building, to a building dedicated to holding part of the Seinfeld car collection.
And although the process of converting it, including making it earthquake safe, didn’t earn him any new friends in the neighborhood, he now as a place to keep his cars safe in uptown Manhattan. He bought the building for a million bucks about 20 years ago, spent $500K in construction… yadda yadda yadda… he has a huge multistory garage. The building has living space as well, but not for Jerry. It’s for his team of people who do fleet management for him. All these cars need caretaking, occasional repairs, etc. And Jerry is certainly not going to sit around doing all of that, right? So he has full-time employees who are in charge of living at the building and taking care of the collection housed there.
Jerry is bicoastal with his collection too. For many years, he’s had a hangar for his cars at the Santa Monica Airport. He also rents a separate hangar that he converted into a living space. So when he comes to LA for showbiz-related activity, he doesn’t need to get a hotel room. He lands at the Santa Monica airport, walks to his hangars, and hangs out until he needs to walk to his other hangar to take out a car. Of course, now that the Santa Monica Airport has been announced as shutting down permanently, he’ll need to find a new place for his LA collection, if he hasn’t already.
The Cream Of The Crop
Seinfeld has tons of cars to his name. We aren’t even sure how many. But there are a lot of highlights to the collection. For example. There’s the 1990 Porsche 962C. It’s been labeled the prettiest racing car of all time, and Jerry picked his up in the early 1990’s. Perhaps it was a gift to himself for how well his show was starting to do. Then there’s the 2012 Porsche 997 GT3 4.0 Cup “Brumos Commemorative Edition.” It’s a fun little racer that Jerry reportedly likes to zip around in not only on the roads, but on racetracks too.
His 1986 Porsche 959S is able to get up for 211 miles per hour, though hopefully Jerry isn’t reaching those speeds on the West Side Highway. It’s one of only 337 built, and when it was released, it was the fastest street-legal vehicle in the world.
At one point he owned a 1960 Volkswagen Beetle, which is among the part of his collection made up of old, funky, and rare odd cars. Seinfeld had this bug for a while, but ended up auctioning it off for charity at one point, where it went for $121K.
Now it’s time to hear from you. If you were worth a billion dollars, how much of that would you spend on cars. Is there a point when it goes from being a collection to an obsession? Let us know in the comments section below!
