Jeff Dunham’s Car Collection
Jeff Dunham’s car collection is fun, rare, and impressive. Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Mercury, Plymouth, a Yugo, and even the Batmobile, they’re all here!
Inside Jeff Dunham’s Impressive (and Unique) Car Collection
Jeff Dunham was everywhere in the early 2000s, especially if you were flipping through channels and passed by Comedy Central. It was almost impossible not to catch a glimpse of the comedian with the puppets. Of course, his work began long before the success he had in the 2000s. Dunham started performing at Six Flags in the 1970s and worked his way up from the amusement park to comedy clubs, Broadway shows, and appearances on The Tonight Show.
A career that spans decades resulted in a net worth of $140 million. It’s safe to say that Dunham has money to spend on his hobby: cars. The interesting thing about Dunham is that he’s not a traditionalist. He’s not someone who grew up fawning over cars. It wasn’t until he had the money to buy some of these cars that he became an avid car enthusiast. Now that he’s a collector, Dunham has quite a few cars to his name. Let’s take a look at the classic, cool, and unique vehicles in his garage.
1971 Mercury Marquis
We may as well start at the beginning. Before the money, before the fame, one of Dunham’s first cars was a 1971 Mercury Marquis. That was his ride to prom. Dunham wasn’t buying sports cars, special editions, or collectors’ items. Still, he was riding around in a blue second-generation 1971 Marquis, capped off with a big chrome front bumper and chrome lines along the side of the car. Mercury sold 114,636 1971 Marquis models that year. It was a respectable ride at the time. The powder blue tuxedo, though? Unlike the Marquis, the tuxedo didn’t stand the test of time.
2012 Call of Duty Jeep Wrangler
You’ll see, as we get further into Jeff Dunham’s collection, that while there are some “normal” cars here, even the normal ones come with a twist. Dunham’s 2012 Jeep Wrangler, for example, is a special edition connected to the Call of Duty video game. Some unique features of this special edition include heavy-duty front and rear Mopar bumpers, 32-inch off-road tires, taillamp guards, a special hood, and Call of Duty fender badges.
1970 Plymouth Superbird
Dunham is a big fan of MOPAR, so a lot of his cars are from that era. One of them is the rare 1970 Plymouth Superbird. Dunham’s bird is powered by a 426 Hemi and manual transmission. It took a year to restore the Superbird. The group Dunham paid to restore it tried to make it as much like the original as possible, from the engine to the bucket seats to the road runner horn. With just 1,935 Superbirds ever built(and probably less than that still in working condition), the comedy superstar now owns a racing legend, all thanks to an eBay listing out of Ohio.
Meyers Manx Dune Buggy
Some people are disappointed when they get to meet their heroes. In Dunham’s case, meeting the man who created the Meyers Manx was no disappointment. While paling around with Jay Leno, Dunham met Bruce Meyers, the designer of the Meyers Manx dune buggy. Dunham has his own red Meyers Manx dune buggy that he regularly takes out for rides around the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Achmedmobile
Most of the work on this 1934 Ford Street Rod was already done when Dunham bought it, but he wanted to customize it. He kept the orange color but added that very noticeable skull to the front. Dunham calls it the “Achmedmobile,” based on one of the puppets from his act. To add some flare to it, Dunham scanned a skeleton bobblehead using a 3D printer, printed the skull in six sections, added some fiberglass, and affixed it to the hood of his vehicle, right on top of the carburetor.
1988 Yugo GVS
A car that had production problems and quality problems, selling a total of 141,651 units during the entire 28-year run, the Yugo was manufactured in Serbia by automaker Zastava. It has a spot in Dunham’s garage. Brought to the U.S. by Malcolm Bricklin, the little hatchback was originally designed as a shortened version of the Fiat 128. It’s equipped with a 1.0-liter inline-four that drives 55 horsepower to the front wheels. Although it had issues at the time, the Yugo GVS has developed a cult following since the 1980s.
1963 Amphicar
It doesn’t get more whacky (or useful, perhaps) as an amphicar. The amphibious automobiles were first launched at the 1961 New York Auto Show, and they were only made for five years. There were 3,878 Amphicars built by the Quandt Group in Germany. This car isn’t just for looks. It doesn’t just sit in Dunham’s garage. He’s taken it out on the lake a few times, once to race pal Jay Leno. Whether it’s for filming or just for fun, Dunham makes use of the
1963 Ferret Scout Car
It looks like a tank, but technically it’s not. The reason being it has tires instead of tracked treads like a tank. This is a street legal vehicle. The weaponry, of course, doesn’t work, but the vehicle does drive. There’s enough room for a couple of people in it. The driver is behind the wheel and then the second passenger is in the turret position.
There are a few quirks that drivers may find in this Daimler-engineered armored vehicle. For instance, the steering wheel is actually angled toward the driver instead of away from the driver. It does have a 130 horsepower with a Rolls Royce engine that has enough oomph to get up to 58 miles an hour. It’s definitely a unique vehicle. No, it’s not an everyday driver, but it’s got to be fun to take to various car shows.
1973 AMC Levi’s Gremlin
Of course, Jeff Dunham owns an AMC Gremlin. It’s not just any Gremlin, though. It’s a 1973 Levi’s AMC Gremlin. The look mimicked that of Levi’s denim, complete with copper-colored seat stitching, metal buttons, blue seat fabric that looked like denim, and Levi’s badging. It’s probably not the sweet ride people would want today, but the ‘73 Gremlin did have the best fuel economy in its class with a six-cylinder 4.2-liter engine and three-speed transmission. It certainly fits right in with the rest of Dunham’s collection, too.
2021 Ford Bronco
Even though there are some classics in Jeff Dunham’s collection, there are newer models, too. For example: the 2021 Ford Bronco that kicked off the sixth generation of the vehicle. The brand-new two-door Bronco was equipped with a twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter V6, but evidently, when you have four Hummers, you don’t need the Ford Bronco because Dunham put the vehicle up for sale in November 2023.
A Bradley GT and a Ford GT
Which GT would you drive? Dunham drives both since they’re both part of his collection. The Ford GT (you’ll notice a theme with the purple color) is well known, of course. The two-seater mid-engine sports car started production in 2004 but went on a 10-year hiatus shortly after that. The second-generation Ford GT lasted from the 2016 model year to the 2022 model year.
That second car probably isn’t as well known. It’s a 1,600 lb. sports car that came to be thanks to Bradley Automotive and the kit that used the underpinnings of a Volkswagen Beetle. There is no roof and there are no doors. You have to climb into this little sports car in order to be a passenger. Dunham is such a fan of the unique kit car that he has several of them.
1999 H1 Hummer and 2022 GMC Hummer EV
Along with a pair of GTs, Dunham has a couple of Hummers in his garage. First, there’s the purple 1999 H1 Hummer with a 6.5-liter turbodiesel V8 that puts out 430 horsepower and gets about 14 miles per gallon. Then there’s the 2022 GMC Hummer EV with two or three electric motors good for either 570 or 1,000 horsepower! Jeff Dunham literally has the evolution of the Hummer in his garage. From the gas guzzling first-generation H1 to the EV. It’s right there.
2012 Dodge Challenger
Chrysler knew about Jeff Dunham’s love of MOPAR, so they approached him before the 2012 SEMA Show with the idea of updating his Dodge Challenger with 150 different MOPAR parts and accessories. The team worked on the challenge, known as “Project UltraViolet,” and ended up showing off a brand-new, upgraded rear-wheel drive Challenger. The final version used a third-generation 426 HEMI crate engine to put out 500 horsepower!
1970 Plymouth Barracuda
Another classic car, another great shade of purple. Dunham bought this convertible in time for it to become his wedding car. It’s the car that he and his wife drove away in after they married in 2012. He bought this Plymouth Barracuda specifically for his wedding day. This example of ‘70s muscle was refurbished by Dunham when he bought it. Though it’s not an everyday ride, it has sentimental value, so it’s unlikely Dunham will be parting ways with it anytime soon.
1975 Brubaker Box
Dunham likes the cool and the strange, so the Brubaker Box fits right in. In response to the van craze of the 1970s, Curtis Brubaker, an aviator and designer, used a kit based on a Volkswagen Beetle chassis to build his prototype. He called it the Brubaker Box. Brubaker was hoping for success, but that wasn’t what he found. He only built 19 Brubaker boxes, though he did contribute to the automotive industry in other ways. Brubaker developed GM technology that lead the way for touchscreens to become a reality.
Dunham picked up the Brubaker and had some of the front, rear, and side paintwork done, eliminating the dated red coloring and infusing the black and chrome-colored finishes instead. Inside the Brubaker is lounge seating with leather upholstery and a minimalist dash. Outside the low-to-the-ground van-like vehicle is a wooden bumper. Oh yeah, did I mention that there’s just one door? It’s on the passenger side of the vehicle, so drivers need to climb in and make their way to the driver’s seat. This is definitely a unique find, but somehow still not the rarest car in Dunham’s collection.
1992 Batmobile
If you thought the Brubaker was unique, take a look at the actual Batmobile. Yeah, Dunham owns one of the actual 1992 Batman Returns Batmobiles. With a LS7 Corvette crate engine, this Batmobile is street-legal, so Dunham does actually take it out and drive it around town. After all, how else are you supposed to keep it filled with gas? Dunham also loans it out for Batman displays, conventions, and car shows. If you’re not jealous of Dunham yet, just look at the next car on this list.
1966 Batmobile
That’s right, Dunham doesn’t own just one Batmobile. He owns two of them! This version, of course, is the Lincoln Futura version from the 1960s TV show. It’s not one of the Batmobiles used in the show, but it’s a replica of one that’s made from the same mold as the original. A Bonafide comic book nerd and car guy, Dunham met up with George Barris himself on the Warner Brothers Studios lot and snagged a picture with him, a Lincoln Futura replica, and the Batmobile replica. He also got a photo with Jay Leno and Adam West in front of the same car. If nothing else, the car is a great photo op!
1965 Calico Surfer
A car maybe not as famous as the 1960s Batmobile, but perhaps equally as innovative and fun, the Calico Surfer is another George Barris custom. It was built for the man who started International Surfing magazine. Bringing in elements of the woody station wagons that were so popular at the time, the Calico Surfer has a hand-formed steel body, red velvet upholstery, and uses a 350-horsepower supercharged V8 and three-speed automatic transmission to drive it forward.
The George Barris custom also has a coil spring independent suspension, four hydraulic drum brakes, and a removable roof panel. Leading the way up front is a silver surfer hood ornament. When Dunham bought the Calico Surfer, it had blue velvet seats and a different hood ornament surfer, but he restored it to the original format as best he could.
All the Rest
The car collection doesn’t end there! Dunham also owns a yellow and black Ford GTX1, a powder blue 1963 split-window Chevy Corvette, a purple Dodge Viper ACR, a 1948 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am (painted like the Smokey and the Bandit version), a 1984 Nissan 300ZX, a 1976 Ford Econoline Chateau, a 1968 El Camino SS 396, a Cadillac STS-V wagon, and a few more Bradley GTs. He’s also got a Volkswagen van and his wife, Audrey, has a 1955 Dodge La Femme. Dunham is starting his kids off early, too, as they have custom mini Lightning McQueen cars from the movie Cars. Jeff Dunham said he likes cars that start conversations. Well, Jeff Dunham’s car collection certainly starts conversations.
