HOT ROD LENO; Talk show host teams with GM to build high-powered Bowtie Deuce.(News)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage in Burbank, California, is stuffed with nearly 200 cars and motorcycles, but unless you count the oversized two-seat roadster powered by a tank engine that The Tonight Show host calls his "hot rod,'' there really isn't a true hot rod in the collection.

Until now.

Immediately following its premiere at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas, a rod dubbed the Leno '32 Bowtie Deuce Roadster takes its place in the comedian's garage, alongside the likes of a McLaren F1 supercar, a 620-hp '55 Buick Roadmaster, a Ford GT and a legendary motorcycle powered by a jet helicopter engine. There is rarified automotive air around Leno's garage, but something tells us the Deuce will fit right in.

Built at Leno's urging (and financed by his personal checkbook), the Bowtie Deuce is the result of a collaborative effort by Leno, General Motors Performance Division, and the makers of the Dearborn Deuce, Hot Rods & Horsepower. The latter relies on American Specialty Cars for its steel '32 Roadster body remakes.

The first germ of the idea came from Hot Rods & Horsepower president Craig Knight, who proposed building a series of Deuces for each of the Big Three automakers (see sidebar). Al Oppenheiser, GM director of concept and vehicle integration, was putting the finishing touches on Leno's GM Performance-built Oldsmobile Toronado from last year's SEMA show when he mentioned Knight's idea.

"I was explaining to Jay about our version of the hot rod, and he said that was something he didn't have,'' Oppenheiser recalled. "He wanted to know if we would consider building one with him.''