Manifold: Ten of the Coolest Cars Driven by Celebrities
- Danny Davies
- Oct 1, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 5, 2024
Throughout history, there have been a countless number of people who have reached celebrity status within society; however, some of those have also had their lives of fame and fortune intertwined with an unbridled passion for cars. Therefore, this is a list celebrating ten celebrity petrolheads, and the cool cars they choose to drive when they are away from the spotlight.
Eric Bana – 1973 Ford XB Falcon
Starring in titles such as Black Hawk Down and Steven Spielberg’s Munich, Bana has had an illustrious career in several blockbuster movies – however, he first dreamed of becoming a racing driver before an actor.
As a teenager, Bana bought what he affectionately refers to as ‘The Beast’; a 1973 Ford XB Falcon, which he has kept ever since. He even made a documentary in 2009 called ‘Love the Beast’, starring himself alongside legends such as Jeremy Clarkson and Jay Leno, which followed his journey of campaigning the car in the Targa Tasmania, a road rally in his native Australia. Unfortunately, Bana crashed his Falcon on the Targa Tasmania, but had it painstakingly rebuilt into a ‘restomod’ tribute to the XB Falcon V8 Supercar, with a Ford Performance dry-sumped Windsor V8 and full Eibach suspension. A certified petrolhead, then.
Michael Fassbender – 2022 Porsche 911 RSR
In a similar fashion to Bana, Fassbender dreamt of racing cars before becoming an actor; a career that eventually led him to star in some of the biggest films of the 21st century. However, Fassbender has been able to pursue his racing dream through the help of Porsche Motorsport, who provided him with a drive in a number of European series, such as Porsche Sports Cup, in order to prepare him for his debut in ELMS (European Le Mans Series), and eventually, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Outlined in the brilliant documentary ‘Road to Le Mans’, Fassbender put his acting career on hold during his training for one of the most gruelling motorsport events on the planet. He got his drive at Le Mans with Proton Competitions and their 911 RSR in the LMGTE class in 2022, and again in 2023. While both of his experiences of Le Mans have unfortunately ended in race-ending crashes, Fassbender’s fastest lap in the 2023 edition of the race was four seconds faster than that of the previous year, showing the progress he was able to make in such a short space of time. I hope to see him back again at some point, as he deserves to be able to cross the finish line.
Ralph Lauren - 1938 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic
Ralph Lauren, the founder of the world-renowned fashion brand of the same name, is also known for being an avid petrolhead and has curated one of the greatest collections of automobiles on the planet. A few of the many highlights of his collection include a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which is one of 36 ever built and is considered by many to be the greatest Ferrari of all time, and a 1995 McLaren F1 LM (chassis LM3), which is one of five cars built by McLaren to celebrate their Le Mans 24 hr win with the F1.
The pièce de resistance however is his 1938 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, which is one of three remaining cars and has been valued at a figure in excess of $40 million. Bugatti built four SC Atlantics; however, the example owned by designer Jean Bugatti, named ‘La Voiture Noire’, has been lost since 1941 after disappearing during World War II. Lauren’s Atlantic is therefore an incredibly rare piece of Bugatti history, and one of the most revered automobiles ever built, featuring as a centrepiece within his impeccable collection.
Brian Johnson – 1928 Bentley 4 ½-litre
Brian Johnson, a legend of rock and AC/DC’s vocalist since 1980, is a pretty well-known and self-confessed petrolhead. He has a past of campaigning several race cars in the UK and the US, such as a 1965 Lola T70, as well as racing in, and finishing, the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona.
Johnson has a very private car collection, however, one of his cars is very well known – a 1928 Le Mans-bodied Bentley 4 ½-litre, affectionately known as ‘Thunderguts’, which became famous after a guest appearance on an episode of Top Gear in 2012. Personally, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect car to suit him.
Gordon Ramsay – 2024 Aston Martin Valour
The world’s most famous chef is another famous petrolhead, and has built an amazing car collection with the spoils of his incredibly successful career. He is well-known to be a major Ferrari collector, currently owning a LaFerrari Aperta, a Monza SP2, a Daytona SP3 and an 812 Competizione Aperta, among others. However, perhaps the coolest car in Ramsey’s collection would be one of his recent additions – a 2024 Aston Martin Valour.
One of 110 worldwide, the Valour was introduced as Aston’s 110th birthday present to themselves, and utilises a 700 bhp, 5.2-litre V12 coupled to a six-speed manual ‘box, which is quite a recipe – a proper driver’s car, then, for a proper petrolhead. The Valour also possesses a very muscular, aggressive design language that harks back to the DBS and Vantage models of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, which has proven to split opinion since Aston launched the model in 2023, but I think they look absolutely spectacular. Plus, any manual-only performance car released in 2024 is instantly cooler than most.
Rowan Atkinson – McLaren F1 061
World famous for iconic TV roles in Black Adder and Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson is equally famous within the car community for his ownership of McLaren F1 chassis 061. Built in 1997, 061 (the 49th road car built) was the only F1 to be finished in the colour ‘Dark Burgundy’ at the request of Atkinson, who ordered the car new.
Over his 18-year ownership tenure, he put over 40,000 miles on the car, which has since become one of the most famous examples of the F1 in existence – partly because of who owned it, and partly because Atkinson crashed it, setting the record for the highest ever car insurance pay-out of all time in the UK… until he broke the record again a few years later by crashing the F1 for a second time. Not to worry, though, as despite the very public nature of both crashes, as well as the car’s high mileage (for an F1, at least), Atkinson sold his F1 in 2015 for $11 million.
James Hetfield – 1948 Jaguar Mark IV ‘Black Pearl’
As well as being part of one of the biggest bands of all time, James Hetfield, the frontman for Metallica, also has a passion for Californian Hot-rod culture which is reflected within his car collection. Working alongside Rick Dore Kustoms based out of California, Hetfield has customised a number of examples of classic Americana to create the ‘Reclaimed Rust’ collection, based around his philosophy of saving cars that have been left to rust away. His collection includes the likes of a period-correct 1938 Ford Roadster, and a 1936 Auburn Boat Tail Speedster called ‘Slow Burn’.
However, my personal favourite from the Reclaimed Rust collection is Hetfield's astonishing 1948 Jaguar Mark IV, which has been beautifully rebodied with an Art-Deco-inspired aluminium body drawn by Hetfield himself, and then stuffed with a Chevrolet Small Block V8 to create the ‘Black Pearl’ – something that Hetfield calls the ‘world’s greatest Coupe’ (via GQ). A fittingly cool car for one of the greatest vocalists and guitarists in the world.
Jay Leno – 2004 Porsche Carrera GT
Jay Leno, the legendary American chat show host, is maybe the only person on this list who is more famous for his obsession with cars than for his actual career. Over nearly 60 years, Leno has built one of the most diverse and extensive collections of cars and bikes in the world, which, amazingly, currently stands at a combined total of around 350 examples. Leno insists everything within his extraordinary collection, ranging from Lamborghinis to Brough motorcycles to Jaguars to steam cars, are all in working order and get used regularly, too, which is maybe the most impressive fact of all.
It’s impossible to pick a ‘coolest’ car for this list, as it’s easy to argue that anything is cool if its owned by Jay Leno, but I’ll do it anyway – his 2004 Porsche Carrera GT would be my pick from his collection, given the fact that it uses a 5.7-litre naturally aspirated V10 that was originally intended for Le Mans (that also happens to be the best sounding engine of all time) mated to a six-speed manual ‘box, and was developed for Porsche by non-other than two-time WRC world champion Walter Rohrl, who intended for the CGT to be the ultimate driver’s car. Jay also set a couple of speed records in the CGT at Talladega Motor Speedway back in 2005, too, which is also pretty cool. I may be slightly biased though; the Carrera GT is my favourite car of all time, after all.
Steve McQueen – 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso
Out of all of the movie stars who also share a passion for cars as well as acting, none have been enamoured with the automobile more so than Steve McQueen. McQueen had a stellar acting career throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, starring in films such as The Great Escape (1963) and Bullitt (1968) before his untimely death in 1980, but the ‘King of Cool’ also had an exceptional taste in cars. As well as owning ‘the Green Rat’, a 1956 Jaguar XKSS, McQueen received a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso as a 34th Birthday Present from his wife, with Mrs McQueen paying $14,000 for the car in 1964.
The Berlinetta Lusso in question was chassis 4891GT, which was unique because of its sumptuous specification. It’s hand-beaten steel and aluminium Pininfarina body was finished in a shade called Marrone, over a tan interior – a colour combination that perfectly suited what is easily one of the prettiest Ferraris ever made. Powered by a 3-litre Colombo V12 making around 240 bhp, the Lusso certainly would have had the performance, as well as the looks, to satisfy the likes of McQueen, and make him the envy of Hollywood.
Jay Kay – 1986 Audi Sport Quattro
However, as cool as a 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso owned by Steve McQueen is, there was only one car – and one owner – which could top this list. Jay Kay, the frontman of the band Jamiroquai, is one of the biggest petrolheads on the planet, while also being effortlessly cool at the same time. His collection over the years has consisted of several Ferraris, including an Enzo finished in the rare shade of Nero (that he once allegedly drove from Rome to Calais in 13 hours…) several Porsches, including two 1972 Carrera 2.7 RSes, as well as countless others, from BMWs to Volvos and everything in-between.
However, the title for coolest car owned by the Space Cowboy, and quite possibly the coolest car ever owned by a celebrity, would go to his 1986 Audi Sport Quattro. Easily one of the most legendary cars of all time, and the single greatest rally homologation to ever exist, the Sport Quattro was built to satisfy the rules about entering a car into the World Rally Championship during the fearsome and fateful Group B era. To create the ‘shorty’ Quattro, Audi chopped 320 mm from the wheelbase of the regular Quattro, and also boosted the regular car’s turbocharged 5-cylinder engine to 306 bhp.
The Sport Quattro is incredibly rare; Audi only built 163 road cars worldwide, and it was also expensive, costing 1.5x the price of a Lamborghini Countach when it was new, making it a very special thing today. However, given its incredible provenance as the homologation special for the most legendary rally car of all time, its hilarious but awesome proportions from its chopped wheelbase, as well as its sheer rarity, the Audi Sport Quattro is a seriously, seriously cool car.
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