We all know that famous people tend to drive nice cars. You know, get famous, get a bunch of money, and buy the latest Mercedes. But there are some celebrities who have separated themselves from the pack in terms of their love of cars.
In this article, we’re going to go through some of the coolest celebrity car collections in the world, and tell you some mind-blowing celebrity stories. You’ll be surprised who ranks among the biggest car buffs in Hollywood.
We’ve got celebrities that have broken land-speed records, celebrities with custom cars named after them, one of the celebrities on our list even sleeps in a car!
You’re not going to want to miss this. Here are some Hollywood celebrities that LOVE cars.
Idris Elba
That’s right, you know him from hit TV shows like The Office and The Wire, and blockbuster films like The Suicide Squad, American Gangster, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. But did you know that Idris Elba’s fascination with fast cars extends beyond the big screen?
In 2015, the Hollywood star actually broke the U.K. flying mile record in a super-coupe Bentley Continental GT Speed. The previous record had been set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1927 on a venue known as Pendine Sands in Wales. And that record stood for 88 years until Elba smashed it, hitting a top speed of 180.4 miles per hour.
Now, it’s worth noting that the reason no one else broke the record before Elba is that Pendine Sands is the only venue in the U.K. that you can attempt such a feat, and the British Ministry of Defense banned the use of public vehicles on the massive stretch of sand until 2010.
So, in truth, this may have been a bit of a PR stunt by Elba and Bentley. But hats off to you anyway, Idris.
John Cena
John Cena is probably best known for his iconic catchphrase “You Can’t See Me!” or for his tremendous accomplishments as a WWE wrestler, but his amazing car collection also packs quite the punch. And while many celebrities collect expensive cars, splurging for the newest and most expensive models, Cena has incredible taste when it comes to souped-up muscle cars.
He owns a yellow 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Rallye 350 and an orange 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator, two cars that are the literal definition of classic swagger. Seriously, look it up in a dictionary. He’s got a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird with a tail wing so big it could probably actually take flight. He’s also got more modern supermachines in his collection like a 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and a 2017 Ford GT.
But perhaps the most special car in his collection is the one that’s NAMED AFTER HIM! Oh yeah, Chevy made a custom version of the C7 R Corvette just for the wrestling champ and named it the Corvette InCENArator. This beast has a tricked-out body and 8 exhaust pipes that shoot actual fire.
You may not be able to see John Cena… but you can definitely see that!
James Dean
Famed actor of the 50’s James Dean always had a major passion for fast cars. When he got the leading role in arguably his most famous film East of Eden, he went out and bought himself a 1953 MG TD.
But it wasn’t just for show, he was also quite famously skilled on the racetrack. Just before he got on set to film Rebel Without a Cause, he won the production class in the first road race he ever entered in Palm Springs, California. He then took first in production class AGAIN at a race at Minter Field only about a month later.
Unfortunately, Dean’s racing and acting careers were cut short by a fatal accident he had in his Porsche 550 Spyder. He had nicknamed this car “Little Bastard” when he bought it, and there are some quite mysterious circumstances surrounding what happened to it after his death.
But what we do know is that James Dean loved this car just like he loved all his speedsters. Sadly, sometimes there’s a price to pay when you go too fast.
Paul Walker
Another famous actor who died chasing his need for speed was Paul Walker. It was no secret that Walker liked to go fast. After all, he was one of the stars in the Fast & Furious series, which if you haven’t seen, is pretty much exclusively about rip-roaring muscle cars in high-speed chases.
But his love for driving wasn’t just an act. In 2010, he competed in the Redline Time Attack Championship in a BMW M3 and impressed the world by taking the podium.
But tragically, like James Dean, Walker would end up in a fatal collision that left him dead. While Walker was just a passenger in the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT driven by Roger Rodas, an esteemed businessman and fellow racing enthusiast, the car drifted through a 40 mile per hour zone doing somewhere between 80 and 90, and hit a concrete lamppost that totaled the car.
Save the gas for the racetrack, drive responsibly in the streets.
Missy Elliot
The queen of rap, Missy Elliot, has amassed quite the fortune over her career, with hit singles like Work It, Throw It Back, and Cool Off. So it’s no surprise that she’s a big spender. But what you might not expect is that Ole Missy is quite the car enthusiast and has put together a collection that will make your head spin. In fact, experts value her collection somewhere in the ballpark of $2 million, and it’s no wonder when you see what she’s driving.
When she wants to go rough-and-tough but still classy, she can pull up in her Mercedes G-Class. However, she did refer to a “Benz Jeep” in her song Hot Boyz, so it’s unclear whether or not she knows what this hundred-thousand-dollar car is even called.
Regardless, she’s got some other sportier supercars in her collection, like her Lamborghini Aventador, her Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, or her fire-red Ferrari Enzo.
In fact, Missy Elliot has such a passion for sportscars that she even sleeps in one. Yup, she’s got a bed shaped like a Ferrari tricked out with a TV that pops out from under the hood, and a shoe rack for her extravagant shoe collection where the back engine should be.
For most people, sleeping in your car probably means you’re not doing so well financially, for Missy Elliot, it’s quite the opposite.
Steve McQueen
Superstar actor of the 1960’s, Steve McQueen, who rose to fame for his performances in movies like The Great Escape and Papillon, was great at more than just acting. He was also highly successful in car racing and off-road motorcycle racing.
In 1970, he missed winning the 12 Hours of Sebring race by only a fraction of a minute. The Porsche 908 piloted by McQueen and Peter Revson (an incredible name for a professional driver, by the way), was inched out of first place by just 23 seconds by a Ferrari 512S driven by the great Mario Andretti. And as if this story weren’t crazy enough, McQueen drove the entire race with a cast on his left leg from a motorcycle crash he’d suffered a few weeks before. Now that’s some serious dedication!
In fact, McQueen loved racing so much that when he was filming the 1971 film Le Mans, he insisted on actually competing in the 24-hour mega-race. Unfortunately, his production company threatened to pull the plug on the whole film if he went through with it. Bummer… how badass would that’ve been? Making a movie about the Le Mans while actually driving in it??
Much respect to Steve for trying.
Tim Allen
Tim Allen, who starred in the long-running TV show Home Improvement as Tim Taylor, a family man with a passion for tools and cars, exhibits the same passion for cars in his real life. Born in Michigan, the heart of the rust belt of the U.S., it’s no wonder Allen developed such an eye for quality automotive craftsmanship.
His collection of classic cars is one of the best out there, with old roadsters like his 1946 Ford Convertible, his 1950 Cadillac 60 Series, and his 1965 Shelby Cobra.
But Tim hasn’t limited himself to just cushy cars from the past, he’s also got some serious modern hardware in his collection. You might see the star of The Santa Clause cruising around in his Corvette ZR1 or his Porsche Carrera GT.
For the most part, Allen has stuck to mostly Chevys and Fords for his collection, staying true to his rust belt roots.
Rowan Atkinson
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Mr. Bean in a mean driving machine!
You wouldn’t expect it from his bumbling antics on-screen, but Rowan Atkinson actually has an extremely suave collection of street cruisers. And as he will avidly tell you, he doesn’t just let his cars collect dust, he puts them to work!
One of the most notable cars in his collection is his McLaren F1, and he definitely likes driving that one. So much, in fact, that he’s crashed it twice! That’s right, and it was also reported that his insurance company charged him a whole heap of money to do the repairs. But I guess that’s no problem when you got dough like Rowan.
He’s also got a wide range of other super valuable cars such as a vintage 1939 BMW 328, a Jaguar MK7, an Aston Martin V8 Zagato, and more.
He’s got so many cars, he was actually planning to build a “space-age petrol station”. Basically, a giant glass mansion for all of his decadent driving machines.
Who would’ve guessed it? Mr. Bean is riding clean.
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