Rock stars and their cars
By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
Famous musicians are renowned for expressing themselves and their wealth in the cars that they own. Here’s a selection of some of these personal indulgences down the years.
The ‘Fab Four’ enjoyed luxury and the best of British with an eclectic taste, from Paul McCartney owning a rare 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 to John Lennon giving a 1965 Rolls Royce Phantom V a psychedelic paint job! But did you know all four Beatles were gifted custom-made Mini Coopers by their then manager Brian Epstein in the mid-sixties?
In the seventies, Elvis Presley bought a De Tomaso Pantera. It looked stunning but this Italian supercar was a mechanical ‘dud’. On one occasion, when it wouldn’t start Elvis fired his revolver at the steering wheel, before shooting a hole in the driver’s door. He sold the car in 1976.
Whilst Elvis was taking a gun to his car, Rolling Stones bass guitarist, Bill Wyman took delivery of a brand new Citroen SM in 1971. The stylish SM was famously a joint venture between Citroen and Maserati. It came with a Maserati V6 engine, hydropneumatic suspension and various tech accessories. Wyman kept his SM for 40 years before selling it at a Bonhams auction for £61,980.
Rock and blues guitarist, Eric Clapton is a massive fan of another Italian car maker, Ferrari and in 2012 he commissioned the company to build a unique Ferrari – the SP12 EC – based on the Ferrari 458 Italia. The SP12 EC was powered by a 4.5 litre V8 engine. A point to note – the ‘EC’ stands for Eric Clayton and ‘12’ represents Eric’s lucky number.
Noel Gallagher (from Oasis) likes his classic cars despite not holding a driving licence. Among his collection there’s been a 1967 Jaguar MK2 which he had converted into a two-door convertible. He sold the Jag in 2022 for £125,000. He has also previously owned a 1997 Bentley Turbo R in Cherry Red.
Smiths frontman, Morrissey turned to Italy for his motoring indulgence, but wasn’t a Ferrari for ‘This Charming Man’ but a Fiat 500 Giardiniera. This estate version of the famous 500 model was produced between 1960 and 1975.
It does seem rock stars and rare cars go well together and you do wonder what the stars of tomorrow might be tempted by?