Celebrity Classic Car Enthusiasts
Celebrity car enthusiasts are hardly a rare breed. It’s understandable. If given a large amount of cash tomorrow, I’d be starting work on my dream garage. In this piece, I want to take a look at some famous petrol-heads, their favorite cars, and why they love ’em.
Rowan Atkinson
British funnyman and star of Johnny English, Blackadder, and Mr. Bean, Rowan spent some of his earnings on what was his pride and joy, the McLaren F1. Atkinson owned the car for 17 years until he sold it for £8 million this year, making a tidy profit. It didn’t simply sit in a garage, either – take a look at the Odometer, and you’ll find that he’s racked up 41,000 miles.
He famously crashed the car in 2011, with his insurers being charged £910,000, nearly twice as much as he paid for it, for repairs. Describing the car, Rowan contrasted the size and usability of the F1 to modern supercars, commenting that despite it’s small stature, the F1 “will seat three, store enough for you all to go on holiday and still finds space for a proper, normally aspirated 6.1-litre V12 engine.” He also praised the ‘quality of thinking’ that went into the McLaren.
Jay Leno
Probably the most well-known car lover on the planet, Leno’s garage in Burbank Airport is the stuff of dreams. Inside you’ll find a Bentley Speed 6, Lamborghini Countach, Ariel Atom, Maserati 3500 GTi and many more automotive delights. The 1986 Countach used to be Leno’s day-to-day car, but when he was asked by CNBC about his favorite cars, he listed two ‘expensive, beautiful failures’ which have won his heart. Machines that were vastly over-engineered, and thus, too expensive to sell. One is the Tucker 48, and the other, a Wills Sainte Claire.
The Tucker is an extremely rare machine from one of motoring’s golden era, and is an eye catching piece of kit. Featuring six tailpipes, three headlights, and a flat-six engine, there’s no other machine that looks quite like it. Only 51 were made, and only 47 still survive.
The Wills Sainte Claire is an even earlier machine, from the 1920s. The company was established by C.H. Wills, a metallurgist who had worked alongside Henry Ford. With a focus on quality, the cars he produced were available in a vast range of body styles, and featured either V8s or straight-sixes, as well as the innovation that was the overhead cam. At a time when mass production was king, the cars were simply too limited in production, with the company going under in 1927, after just six years of operation.
Ralph Lauren
Fashion mogul Ralph Lauren loves cars – his collection is one of only a handful outside of museums that rival Jay Leno’s. His collection includes one of only two Bugatti Type 57C Atlantics (out of four ever made,) a 1938 Alfa Romeo Mille Miglia Spyder, the gullwing magic of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, right up to modern day cars such as the Lamborghini Reventon and the Bugatti Veyron.
He also visits them for a criminally small amount of time each year, just 30 hours per annum, according to Jalopnik. So what are his favorites? Speaking to Architectural Digest, Lauren listed 22 of his favorite cars, describing cars as ‘art – moving art.’ From the list – which also featured the Ferrari 250 GTO, Jaguar XKSS, and the Jaguar XKD, one name stood out more than others – the McLaren F1.
Whatever magic Gordon Murray and Peter Stevens were working when they designed the F1, it did the trick. From car journalists to fashion designers to comedians, the F1 has many fans, and they’re thoroughly well deserved.
