Don't hate them because they're rich and you're not. Simply dislike them for having the financial privilege of owning a one-off exotic supercar. Sometime celebrities are true gearheads and have great taste in cars. Other times, well, not so much. (That's a direct reference to Justin Bieber, the little punk.) But in the case of these five celebrities and their cars, the exact opposite is true. Each of these guys knows cars and isn't about chroming them out or anything of that hideous sort. No, these are serious gearheads with truly fine automotive taste.
Steven Tyler has certainly had his share of wild times. It was the 1970s after all. But the Aerosmith front man is also a car lover who knows how special a particular car can be. That's probably why he placed an order for a one-off Hennessey Venom GT Spyder. Tyler managed to get the very first Spyder but as of now only two others have been built. Each carries a price tag of $1.1 million. But for that amount you get a 7.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 1,200 horsepower and 1,155lb-ft of torque. Top speed is 275 mph. Eat the rich indeed, Steven.
He could have simply bought a Ferrari 458 Italia and called it a day. But no, guitar legend Eric Clapton wanted something a little more special, something no one else in the world had. So he commissioned Ferrari and Pininfarina to build him a tribute to the classic Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer. Starting off with a 458, Ferrari's Special Projects division went to work to build this one-off car whose design was based around two clamshells that seemingly appear to overlap. Clapton reportedly requested a V12 engine in place of the stock 4.5-liter V8, but the engineering costs were too high.
The man clearly loves food and cars. That's not a bad combination of passions. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri has an American classic car collection along with a popular show on the Food Network. Because he knows his cars, Chevrolet built this Collector Edition 427 Corvette Convertible with a black-on-yellow paint scheme just for Fieri. Also included are embroidered headrests and fender badges with the Guy Fieri Foundation logo. Power comes from a 7.0-liter LS7 V8 with 505 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. Fieri auction off his car to benefit his Cooking With Kids Foundation.
Nicko McBrain may not look like your average car nut but that's likely because he's also a heavy-metal rock star. As the drummer from Iron Maiden, McBrain is able to afford any kind of car he'd like. But he just so happens to be a longtime fan of Jaguar. This custom-built XKR-S has an Ultra-Blue exterior with a red and black interior filled with Iron Maiden design traits. Even the word "Supercharged" was engraved into the carbon fiber hood louvers in Iron Maiden-style font.
Rowan Atkinson's famous Mr. Bean character may come across as a complete idiot to some but Atkinson himself is anything but. He's also a total gearhead with the means to buy anything. He went all the way years ago when he bought a McLaren F1 for around £634,500. The car has since dramatically increased in value to well over £3.4 million. We applaud Atkinson for actually driving his multi-million-dollar supercar, but back in 2011 he wrecked it. Fortunately he wasn't hurt, but after eighteen months and a repair bill of over a million pounds, the F1 is back in working order. Fortunately Atkinson had the car insured.
