6 (or 7) British celebrities and their cars
Many celebrities have created stunning classic car collections. Is there something about performing in front of millions that brings out the love for a good car?
Perhaps, though the price tags of some of the marques in these private collections might have something to do with it. What else might you spend your millions on? And these high end performance cars tend not to depreciate in value - classic cars can be a good investment.
Adele
The singing star passed her driving tests in her mid-20s. Her first motor was a Porsche Cayenne 4x4. Cars she has owned or still owns include:
- Range Rover Vogue
- Audi Q7
- Volkswagen Sharan
- Mercedes Benz S-Class
- Cadillac Escalade
One car the singer will perhaps be better associated with is the Range Rover Sport she travelled in with James Corden for Carpool Karaoke.
Chris Evans
The TV presenter, radio DJ, and producer is also the founder of the classic car festival CarFest. He has a particular love of Ferraris and, like Jay Kay from Jamiroquai, his personal fleet is legendary. Current and past collectibles include:
- Ferrari 575M Maranello
- Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB (once owned by actor James Coburn)
- Ferrari 250 GTO
- Ferrari TR61
- Ferrari 250 GT Lusso
The Beckhams
Singer and fashion designer Victoria Beckham segued into the role of creative director to produce a Range Rover Evoque Special Edition. The exclusive paintwork was hand-finished matt black car paint with a gloss black roof. She drove one for a while.
Along with footballer husband David, she’s rumoured to have a wide range of classic cars and modern marques in the garage, including:
- Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet
- Porsche 911 Carrera S
- Ferrari 360 Spider
- Aston Martin V8 Volante (featured in the Bond film The Living Daylights)
- Jeep Wrangler
Rowan Atkinson
Mr Bean drove a classic Austin Mini but the actor himself gets around in an Audi A8. And also a Land Rover Defender Heritage. Even, occasionally, an Aston Martin V8 Zagato - probably when he nips out for milk at midnight or does the school run.
The Blackadder star has quite the classic car collection. It’s rumoured he’s got around 10 vivacious vehicles in his garage worth £millions. As well as the above examples, he owns or has owned:
- Jaguar Mk7
- Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead
- Bentley Mulsanne Birkin
- BMW 328 Roadster
- McLaren F1
See the Mr Bean Wiki for full details of all the classic Austin Minis that appeared in the popular series.
Noel Gallagher
It must be quite the challenge for wealthy musicians to spend or invest their money wisely. Noel Gallagher did what many musicians before him have done, and bought a classic Jaguar MkII.
Trouble is, he can’t drive it himself because he’s never had serious lessons. Here’s betting he’s taken it for a spin around the roads of his private estate though.
Jay Kay
We can’t sign off without mentioning the most famous muso petrolhead in the UK. The value of the Jamiroquai singer’s exquisite collection is the stuff of legend, spoken of in hushed tones around pub tables and passed down the generations from mother to daughter, father to son.
The acid jazz musician has owned a great many cars (Wikipedia suggests hundreds). They have included:
- BMW 2002 Baur Cabriolet
- Aston Martin DB6 Mark 1 Volante
- Lamborghini Miura SV
- Abarth Fiat 1000
- Maserati A6G
Many of his classic cars are rare; some have become famous themselves for appearing in the band’s music videos.
Find your classic car paint
Chris Evans infamously drove his £120,000 silver Maranello into a ditch in 2005. Rumour has it that he took it well!
Classic car paint isn’t like modern paint. Until the 1990s, car manufacturers used cellulose paint, which was a petrol-based paint. Modern car paint has a different composition, being acrylic-polyurethane based. It looks richer in colour and has a gloss shine.
Hardly anyone makes cellulose car paint any more, which makes it important to buy a good quality classic car paint that mimics the look of the era. Technology has been able to bridge the gap with a nitro-acrylic base that makes colour match car paint for classic cars possible.
This means you can get the vintage look you’re looking for with a complete respray, and you can use touch up paint to keep it looking its best.
Let’s hope Chris got the bodywork repair he wanted - and that his Ferrari deserved.
How to order your classic car touch-up paint
Simply enter your paint code, make, year and key (basic) colour into our search tool and follow the instructions.