David Letterman has described his collection as “small but important,” spanning German, British and Italian cars. Historical accounts offer a few examples—including Austin-Healeys, a Jaguar XK120 and several Porsches—but there is no reliable public count or complete, up-to-date inventory. The evidence points to a varied enthusiast’s collection, not a verified fleet whose size or value can be stated with confidence.
What cars have been reported in Letterman’s collection?
In a 1994 interview, Letterman described his cars by country of origin: German, British and Italian. A 1993 TIME profile reported that his foreign sports cars were kept in an airplane hangar in Santa Monica. These are historical descriptions, not a current inventory.
The most detailed account of individual cars comes from Ferrari specialist Tom Yang, who wrote in 2023 about visiting the hangar around 1995. Yang recalled seeing about a dozen cars, including Austin-Healeys, a Jaguar XK120 and several Porsches. His estimate describes what he remembers seeing on that visit; it is not an audited count or evidence that Letterman still owns those cars.
Porsches Yang recalled
Yang named a 1600 Speedster, Carrera Speedster, Convertible D, B Coupe, 911 Carrera Coupe and Porsche 914/6. He said he chose to drive the 914/6 during his visit. This is a retrospective account by one visitor, not a complete or independently verified list of Letterman’s cars.
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How many cars does David Letterman own?
No reliable current total has been established. In the 1994 interview, Letterman said, “I have some cars. I don’t — honestly, I don’t know the number.” A 1996 SFGate profile likewise quoted him as not knowing how many he had. Yang’s “about a dozen” refers only to his recollection of the cars he saw at the hangar around 1995.
Does Letterman collect Ferraris and Porsches?
The available accounts support saying that his collection included Porsches at the time of Yang’s visit and that Letterman broadly described owning German, British and Italian cars. They do not establish that a particular Porsche or Ferrari remains in his collection today. Although Yang is a Ferrari specialist, his account names several Porsches and does not provide a verified current Ferrari inventory.
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What makes the collection unusual?
The evidence describes breadth of marques rather than a single standout car: British examples such as Austin-Healeys and a Jaguar XK120 alongside the Porsches Yang recalled, within a collection Letterman characterized as German, British and Italian. There is no supported ranking of the cars by rarity, value or performance, so no one vehicle can reliably be called the collection’s most unusual or valuable.
Letterman has also tended to understate the collection. In 1996, he called it “an insignificant collection” and jokingly referred to the cars as “nicely painted, brightly polished ‘junk.’” That self-deprecation is a better guide to his public description than claims that the collection is exceptionally large or valuable.
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How is Letterman connected to auto racing?
His car interest extends beyond collecting. A 1993 TIME profile described racing as Letterman’s top passion and connected it to his childhood in Indianapolis. The profile quoted him describing his effort to show friends that the Indianapolis 500 was “more than cowboys in cars going as fast as they can.” On June 15, 2025, CBS described him as a co-owner of Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing. That reporting documents his racing connection at the time; it does not mean the collection cars were race cars or establish that his team role remains unchanged.
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Sources and what they establish
- TIME (1993) provides period context about Letterman’s racing interest and reports a foreign sports-car collection in a Santa Monica hangar.
- Playboy interview (1994), reproduced online contains Letterman’s descriptions of the collection and his uncertainty about its count.
- SFGate (1996) quotes Letterman’s joking description of his cars and similarly reports no count.
- Tom Yang’s account (published 2023) recounts his visit around 1995 and names cars he remembers seeing.
- CBS (June 15, 2025) identifies Letterman as a co-owner of Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing in its interview description.
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