Identity of the Mystery McLaren MP4-12C Driver Revealed?
Many of us enjoyed reading i_heart_my_db8‘s encounter with the McLaren MP4-12C. While we are all worshippers at the altar of VTEC, most of us remain at heart car enthusiasts and acknowledge other cars. Likewise, it warms our heart when a fellow car enthusiast acknowledges our enthusiasm as well. As things turned out, a group of Southern California S2000 owners were out on their routine Last Sunday of the Month Santa Monica Run when they encountered a McLaren MP4-12C. The door opened and jaws dropped everywhere when people realized who the owner was (Hint: the most famous chin in recent American talk show history).
On December 18, a group of S2000 owners from Southern California set out on their monthly drive on roads that were still slick from recent rainfall. The group eventually arrived at an overlook where they parked their cars and got out to enjoy the view. Shortly thereafter an orange (they call it Volcano Orange) McLaren MP4-12C pulled up to the overlook and the door opened to reveal part-time talk show host and full-time auto enthusiast, Jay Leno.
The stupefied S2000 owners eventually got over their bashfulness and approached Jay for an obligatory picture. In the words of our member, RMurphy, “I was told by just about every guy in our group, ‘You gotta go talk to him! Get a picture! He can’t say no to you; you’re a girl!’ LOL! I was surprisingly nervous talking to the man. I honestly at one point just didn’t know what to say. He was very nice and very approachable, I was just feeling incredibly nervous.”
Jay posed for several pictures with our fellow members and also talked to them about his Honda S600 (which coincidentally had its engine built by Formula H in Upstate New York). As though their year-round perfect weather was not enough, we find yet another reason to hate on our fellow-members from SoCal (we kid!).
Props to Jay for being very welcoming and obliging to our members. We hold out hope that perhaps someday an S2000 will also make its way to his awesome garage. As to whether the McLaren that played with i_heart_my_db8 belonged to Jay Leno, we can’t say for sure, but per our member Chaz and his comment on the home page, it is indeed Jay.
What do you think?
Images courtesy of RMurphy. Tip of the hat to chazdawg35 for the link.
Related Links:
S2KI – Southern California S2000 Owners: Last Sunday of the Month Santa Monica Mountains Run