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Celebrities with cash burning a hole in their pocket, are able to indulge their passion for classic cars in a way that the rest of us can only dream of. Which celebrity petrol heads are most aligned with your taste in classic motors?

In this blog, we list some of our favourite celebrity petrol heads, highlighting some of the classic cars they have, or have had, in their collection.

By the end of the article, we hope to have introduced you to some celebrities you never knew had a passion for vintage motors. This blog also does a good job of underlining the importance of good classic car insurance cover. Read on to find out what we mean by that comment.

Here are four of the best celebrity petrol heads, starting with a collector of some of the finest classic cars in the world…

Chris Evans

Chris Evans' legendary love of cars gave rise to the annual CarFest events in Cheshire and Hampshire, which benefit the BBC's Children in Need.

Founded by the radio presenter in 2011, the festival presents a variety of entertainment – live music performances, track shows, celebrity chef demos, driving experiences, a steam fair, a family fun run and a carnival fancy dress parade.

In terms of Evans’ collection of classic cars, it’s almost impossible to keep on top of what vehicles he still has in the garage and which ones he’s sold on.

In 2015, he sold 13 of his collection at a Goodwood Revival Bonhams auction, making him millions of pounds – but he tends to put much of any sales proceeds back into the classic car market.

In 2008, he spent a then world record £5.6 million on James Coburn's Ferrari 250 GT California Spider. Later, in 2010, he bought himself a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO for a cool £12m.

Quirkier purchases include a Ford Escort Mexico and the only working car built for the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film. Oh what we’d give to spend a day rooting around Evans’ garages!

Rowan Atkinson

Another household name to be a sucker for the allure of the classic car is Mr Bean himself, Rowan Atkinson. Just don’t call him a collector.

“I’m not a collector. I don’t like the toy cupboard syndrome that causes so many good cars to evaporate,” he once told Classic and Sports Car magazine. “It depresses me that they are hidden away like investment art, or gold ingots in a Swiss vault.”

But with using a classic car comes the risk of damaging it. Atkinson learnt the hard way, twice crashing his £640,000 McLaren F1, once in 1999 and again in 2011.

The second crash cost £910,000 to repair the vehicle. A bit steep you might say? Well, the Blackadder star went onto sell the supercar for an estimated £8 million in 2015!

Jay Kay

You don’t hear a lot these days from Jay Kay, singer and frontman of Jamiroquai. But there’s no doubt what he’ll be doing with this spare time… tending to his classic car collection.

He has owned, at times, 100 of the world’s most desirable and valuable motors. But he might never had sparked an interest in the older car if he hadn’t been strapped for cash after passing his test.

“I was about 21 when I got my driving licence and I couldn’t really get insurance on a modern car. So I thought, ‘I’ll get a classic,’” he told the Sunday Times a couple of years back.

The car in question was a “little white, 22,000 mile BMW 1602”, which, as of the interview in 2017, still sat in a lockup in London.

It’s a little bit of stretch, however, to say that he wouldn’t have gone on to own so many classic cars if it wasn’t for the BMW 1602. His love for cars stems from being on the road from a young age, with his mum’s Triumph Herald 1360 and a friend’s 1973 Aston Martin V8 both providing fond memories.

His advice to anyone thinking of buying a classic car is to choose a car that has a reputation as being great to drive. His favourite car in his garage is a 1968 Porsche 911 S, which he describes as “pure Porsche to drive”.

Coming from a man that has owned a Ferrari Enzo and a Ferrari LaFerrari, that’s saying something.

Amy Macdonald

You don’t have to be a boy to be a petrol head, of course. Scottish singer, Amy Macdonald, who shot to fame in 2010 with the song ‘This Is The Life’, loves her fast cars.

Despite warnings from her mother not to “waste your money on cars”, Macdonald used the cash from her first record contract to three cars: a brand new Mini Cooper, an Audi TT and a £76,000, 197mph Audi R8. They might not be classic cars, but they’re nice motors all the same.

Her passion for luxury cars grew, leading her to purchase a Nissan GT-R, a Bentley Continental Supersports, Ferrari 488 GTB and – the cream of the crop – a £250,000 Ferrari 458 Speciale.

On an appearance on Top Gear, Macdonald revealed her dream car to be a Bugatti Veyron. The day after the episode aired, the chief executive of Bugatti and invited for a test drive. But the wait to own one goes on…

Protect your investment with classic car insurance

If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a vintage motor, you will need specialist classic car insurance. 

Whatever model you end up buying, we can find you cover to match. Lancaster Insurance is the classic car insurance broker of choice for  96,000 vehicle owners. Did you know that over 40% of all MGBs and over 30% of all Land Rover 88s and MG Midgets have their insurance arranged by us?

Like you, Lancaster is passionate about classic cars. Drawing on the recommendations from our panel of specialist underwriters, we will search for the best classic car insurance for your cherished auto.

Get a quote today.