Ferrari luxury sports cars have always had a special affinity with the association of not only the racing world and upper echelons of the Formula One Grand Prix, but also a popular choice for the rich and famous.
A Ferrari parked outside an expensive boutique or a café in Monaco wouldn’t ever “look out of place”, would it? This is probably due to the fact that Ferrari sports cars have always had a reassuringly rather large price tag to go with their image of wealth for its owner.
With this in mind, the cars that belong to celebrities, Hollywood actors and famous people have always attracted even more attention than their less famously owned counter parts. So when some of these famously owned cars end up at a classic car auction or are announced that they will be sold, a media frenzy starts and so does a bidding war for the top price.
In a recent classic car auction at the Silverstone, a rare 2003 “Ferrari 575 Maranello” with only 10,000 miles on the odometer was eventually sold for £66,000 and was purchased by an unknown private buyer. What was unique about this car was its special provenance from its famous previous owners.
The fact this Ferrari was not just rare, but its previous owners included; the legendary guitar hero “Eric Clapton” and the BBC Radio and TV presenter Chris Evans, who are both huge Ferrari fans in their own right.
Chris Evans has been in and out of the motoring world press for the last few years, with his growing collection of Ferrari’s, which now includes seven in the line-up. But his latest acquisition is the one that’s got everyone talking. It’s a very rare 1960 Ferrari 250 California Spyder, that cost over £5 million at auction. What makes this classic car even more special is that its only number 13 of only 56 cars ever produced of this model, but it was formally owned by the late (great) film actor James Coburn, who was a massive Ferrari fan.
James Coburn got his love of cars from his father and was reputed to have turned the automotive-fanatic actor Steve McQueen onto Ferrari sports cars back in the early sixties.
Other celebrities and star’s who share a love for Ferrari sports cars are most notably Jay Kay from the band Jamiroquai who has had a number of Ferrari’s including; a Ferrari F40, a 360 Spider, Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari 456GT. Veteran rock singer Rod Stewart also owns a Ferrari F40, a 360 Spider and now new Murcielago.
Star of film and TV, Joanna Lumley has a classic Ferrari 328 GTS Targa, where as lead guitarist of the Who rock band also has a passion for Ferrari’s, as Pete Townshend currently owns a Ferrari 550 Maranello.