10 Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Legit Car People

If you came here thinking this would be a list featuring Jay Leno and his massive garage or Jerry Seinfeld and his Porsches, think again. There are a number of celebrities who are crazy about cars and have the proper gearhead credentials to prove it. Who knew Nic Cage and Rod Stewart had so much in common?

Back in the 1980s, then-Bruce Jenner raced in IMSA, actually won his class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Roush Mustang, and finished second in the championship to teammate Scott Pruett.

The Blackadder and Mr. Bean star is an amateur racer who used to own a McLaren F1. Simply owning a supercar doesn’t make one a car guy, though. Driving it to the grocery store...does. “The whole point of the car, the thing no one ever writes about, is you don’t need to go to the Stelvio Pass or the Nurburgring to enjoy it. [...] Most of the miles I have done in it are journeys you might do in any other car – going to Sainsburys or doing the school run.”

Lamborghini 400 GT? Check. McLaren F1? Check. Mini Cooper? Mini Moke? Double check. Heck, urban legend has it that Sir Paul actually wrote "Hey Jude" while sitting in his Aston Martin DB6.

When he’s not performing or giving Wayne and Garth lessons on the history of Milwaukee, Mr. Cooper’s a pretty old-school, hot rod, drag-racing-from-a-stop-light kinda guy. He’s also turned that passion into charity work, dreaming up cars like this Donald Trump-themed Lincoln Zephyr with money on the side and an ATM in the trunk.

Bana loves cars enough that one of the reasons he still lives in Australia is his love for the old Ford Australia Falcon. He’s competed in the legendary Targa Tasmania and even shared a car with ex-F1 man and fellow Aussie Mark Webber.

Sure, he’s famous for uttering the F-word a few zillion times, but he’s actually obsessed with another F-word: Ferrari. He’s had a couple over the years, and recently, he upgraded to a LaFerrari, naturally.

Cage has owned everything from a Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider (think Ferris Bueller), to a supremely rare factory lightweight Jaguar E-Type, a Lamborghini Miura, a Bugatti Type 57 Atalante, and a Lamborghini 350 GT. Translation: He’s not a self-indulgent wiener. He’s a connoisseur.

Buying unique cars every few years, driving them until your eye finds something else, and then selling them is a very common thread among car guys. It’s just that most guys don’t do that with some of the finest cars ever made, like a Lamborghini Miura, a Ferrari F40, and another Miura. He’s so into cars that, according to legend, he once performed backup vocals in a song in exchange for custom seat covers.

Bugatti Veyron? Yeah, it’s an incredible car, but it’s also a car that’s relevant to be seen in. Cowell’s car guy-ness runs much deeper than that. He actually owns a Caterham Seven, which is so far down the car guy rabbit hole that there is literally no one on Earth that would enjoy driving it if they weren’t seriously into motoring.

Here’s a fun bit of trivia that none of your friends will ever guess: Gene Hackman is the only two-time Oscar winner to race for Dan Gurney at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Prior to that, he raced formula cars in the SCCA throughout the 1970s.

Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor, and can be found on Twitter. He'd love to go for a drive with Rowan Atkinson some day.

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