In today’s Morning Dump I mentioned that, much to my surprise, Danish supermodel Helena Christensen has apparently owned and primarily driven a 1968 Morris Minor her entire adult life. She seems fun, so the match isn’t entirely unbelievable, but the idea of such an aesthetically unremarkable car with such an aesthetically impressive person is quite interesting.
Celebrities! They’re just like us. Some of them, at least. I’ve spoken with a decent number of famous people about their cars, and the reality is that most notable people have the exact kind of nice but uninteresting cars you’d expect from someone in their tax bracket.
And then there are cars that just seem to fit with a specific celebrity. Is anyone surprised that Guy Fieri has a yellow Corvette? Absolutely not. Is it a shock that John Cena owns a bunch of muscle cars? That’s also probably not going to feel like news to you.
What might be more unlikely, if you don’t closely follow the antics of the seemingly very cool wrestler-turned-actor John Cena, is that he also owns a Civic Type R. It’s not even his first CTR!
@functionandform @johncena drives a Civic Type R! ????❤️???????? clip from Whiskey Gigner Podcast #civictyper #fk8typer #johncena #hondaboys
Above is John Cena talking about his previous DD Civic Type R.
“It’s got tech, it’s a manual, it’s reliable, it’s stable at 145,” says Cena. My man!
That’s so cool. It seems like Cena is probably large enough to carry a Type R, which is why my first guess would have been some sort of truck. Nope! A Japanese sport compact car is Cena’s go-to for any distance above 10 miles.
Can you think of any more ludicrous pairings of celeb and machine? Of course you can. I just gave you a hint right now!
Top graphic images: Honda; depositphotos.com
It’s not a paring exactly, but Roger Moore’s favorite Bond car of all his movies was…the yellow Citroen 2CV in For Your Eyes Only. He was a cooler guy than he’s often given credit for being.
He also owned a Volvo 1800S similar to the one he drove in The Saint – I believe he actually bought it himself after the series ended, because just liked it
That fits for sure – apparently the Saint was his favorite role. Back in the early 60s, he tried to buy the rights to the then-unused franchise so he could make it into movies or a TV show. He was in the end outbid by the studio…who promptly turned around and offered him the lead.
I still love Nick Mason’s collection. (Pink Floyd’s Drummer)
While, all the other bands and bandmembers spent all their wealth on sex, drugs, and rock and roll, he quietly invested his into collector cars, and now has a collection to put most billionaires to shame.
Just a few of his cars: 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, 1953 Ferrari 250MM, Ferrari F40, and the Ferrari 512S used in Steve McQueen’s “Le Mans”. Other than his stable of Ferraris, he has other notable cars such as a 1955 Jaguar Type-D, 1927 Bugatti Type 35B, 1957 Maserati 250F, Birdcage Maserati, and a 1996 McLaren F1 GTR.
And, he drives all of them! They don’t collect dust. He fires them up and drives them in vintage events and even just around his local area.
He was once quoted as saying, “Back in the day we all had dealers on speed dial, luckily mine sold Ferraris not drugs.”
Here’s a fun video of Nick Mason, taking AC/DC’s Brian Johnson for a ride in the 250 GTO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-5FpSvyvE4
Ryan Gosling built his Malibu from ‘Drive’ as well as some other vintage cars
I just want to know if Li’l Nas X ever got himself a Mitsubishi Montero.
Former Detroit Piston Ben Wallace is into RC racing. Considering he is like a 11/10 scale human, the fact he spends his time driving 1/10 scale cars is amusing.
While not exactly a household name, NFL player Alfred Morris is known for keeping his 1991 Mazda 626 he bought in college for $2 even after signing a multi-million dollar contract with Washington.
https://www.mazdausa.com/discover/alfred-morris-mazda-626
They’re nice cars!
Was going to say Lady Gaga with the F150 Lightning but it appears a couple people have beaten me to the punch so I’ll go with something else. While not as odd I do think Dax Shepard’s 700hp LS Buick Roadmaster wagon is pretty cool.
Definitely. Although, as big body V8 cars driven by TV comedy stars go, the precedent was set years before by Tim Allen, with his “Binford 6100” Impala SS.
https://www.bluestarautomotive.com/TAD.html
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/sydney-sweeney-1969-ford-bronco-restored-herself
Sydney Sweeney restored her own Bronco.
Christian Bale and his Toyota Tacoma gets my vote.
That’s very Empire of the Sun of him to choose that.
Kirsten Stewart apparently has a Taco as well as a T100. https://www.therichest.com/luxury/a-peek-inside-kristen-stewarts-car-collection/
I think the Cena CTR thing has always been cool because it specifically shows he’s one of us. Any rich asshole can go out and buy Ferrari or Bentley or something…but when celebrities go out of their way for a “if you know you know” car I always think it’s pretty neat. The recent example that comes to mind is Michael Jordan’s manual 850i.
I mean the spec on that thing is just perfect. Blue over a parchment, V12, 6 speed manual…again, I look at the specs and I’m like “this guy gets it”. It’s a true gentleman’s choice. I’d much much rather have a beer with Cena than MJ though….Cena seems like a fun and he’s incredibly self-aware, Jordan is well known for being one of the biggest asses in professional sports history.
But hey, I guess if you’re indisputably great at whatever it is you do you can be a gigantic ass if you want to. No one is gonna tell MJ or Tom Brady that they aren’t the best to ever do it.
Nobody doesn’t like John Cena, as far as I can tell. He’s right up there with The Rock in terms of reputation and likeability, which is shocking considering how much time the two of them spent in that cesspool of pro wrestling.
Cena traded his 2020 in for…. a brand new 2024 Type R at a Honda dealership last year. Someone out there probably owns his old one already. Dude loves his CTRs.
Many, many years ago, a few members of the Chicago Bears made an appearance at my high school. Several of them showed up in the sorts of cars you’d expect – Corvettes, Benzes, etc – but Walter Payton was driving a VW Rabbit diesel. Even back then, I thought that was cool. A humble, friendly car for a humble, friendly guy.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/conan-obrien-defending-his-ford-taurus-sho-to-a-normal-person-is-all-of-us
Edited to add – I don’t think it’s ludicrous but I’ve always found this amusing.
Beat me to it
We did an episode of Reels & Wheels Podcast with Reggie Bannister from the Phantasm movies. He told us about how he used to race a Corvair. Did not see that coming.
https://hondanews.eu/eu/fi/media/pressreleases/66214/acura-unveil-restored-ludacris-legend
Ludacris’ Passion for his Acura Legand. Considering rappers are all about the exotics these days seeing a rapper’s favorite car as a Japanese car especially such a dinosaur is a very ‘odd’ pairing!
Another one is Brad Pitt driving his Toyota Prius. Maybe it helped him blend in? Such an odd pairing of the Macho action guy in the economy hybrid.
There were a fair number of Hollywood celebs who drove Priuses. I think Leonardo DiCaprio drove one.
I see what you did there.
Low hanging fruit as they say..
I would say that hip hop, especially in the 90s, fully embraced all the Japanese luxury brands. Lexus, Acura, and Infinity are mentioned in so many iconic 90s rap songs.
It makes Ludacris’s Legend even cooler to me as it’s a great homage to the era.
The woman at the drive thru the other day took a look at my CTR and asked me if I knew John Cena drove one. Which I did!
Rowan Atkinson and a McLaren F1 is my favorite pairing.
Rowan Atkinson and any of his high-end sports cars.
There’s a much younger comedian (James Acaster) who talks about how he had a rough patch in his life including losing his girlfriend to Rowan Atkinson.
Atkinson lost more than a few ladies to Flashheart over the centuries, so it’s only fair….
I don’t know if he owns one, but Atkinson has had a HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) Class 1 license for a long time and apparently really enjoys driving the big commercial stuff.
Colin Powell, a fine American, drove a Volvo. I’m not sure if that’s odd, but I would have expected a Buick.
He liked old Volvos, the PV444/544 models. Somebody in LA was recently trying to sell a mid-’90s Jaguar XJ that Powell had been the original owner of; I’m not sure the “celebrity” provenance added as much to the car’s value as they hoped it would, because it was for sale for quite a while at their original, silly price.
Tina Turner with a Lamborghini LM002 was always a favorite of mine
wasnt hers LS and automatic swapped, too?
I always see the lady Gaga fleet. I think she has a 93 lightning and an sn95 cobra. Plus some 1st gen broncos an el camino. I think I saw something about a ranchero too.
Not sure if it’s an odd pairing as he had it before he got famous, but I’ll always remember Michael McIntyre’s appearance on Top Gear where he described overtaking expensive cars on the freeway in his battered old Austin Princess. “See that Porsche? I’ll have it!”
We quote his phrase “petrol suitcase” all the time!
I gotta go with the billionaires who drive old beaters. Ross Perot, Warren Buffett, etc. I mean, it’s not like dropping cash on a brand-new Cadillac or Lincoln is gonna break the bank.
These men knew the work and sacrifice invested in getting to that lofty perch. They were frugal in their lives to forward their businesses, long after they had to be.
I think with Warren Buffet it sort of made sense .. he is such a creature of habit and routine. Also he tries to be such a roll model for his workers and the public so the “drive it till the wheels fall off” mentality was important for his image. I also wonder if he had to consider someone like him buying a brand new vehicle would be seen as some kind of endorsement in the brand?? It’s more surprising to me that he did not just hire a driver but he would consider an expense like that to be wasteful!
When Sam Walton (Walmart founder and one of the richest people in the world) died, in 1992, he was driving a 1979 Ford F150 that he bought new.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/walmart-founders-1979-ford-f-150-is-one-big-slice-of-americana/
My uncle used to call on Walmart corporate for one of their vendors, he had some dealings with Mr. Sam once in awhile, wore bib overalls in the office, offer to take sales reps out to lunch, but then never had his wallet on him. Also, their offices were apparently pretty dumpy, beat up used furniture, sagging ceiling tiles, stained carpet, etc, looked more like the scale house at a small mom & pop sand and gravel pit than the corporate HQ of a major retailer
I remember a story (probably not true) that Sam gave one of his high level managers a big bonus, which he used to by a high end car. Sam said glad you’re enjoy your rewards, but please don’t drive that to the office parking lot, supposedly the employee didn’t listen and Sam fired him. Almost certainly not true but seems pretty believable
Paul Newman’s hot rod Volvo wagons.
Ed Begley Jr. and the bus.
Gary Busey has (or at least had) a Volvo C30
Not a Gen 2 Camaro”?
Arnie and the original military HumVee. Yep, checks out.
Burt Reynolds got a free new Trans Am each year for a decade or so.
I was at Burt’s house in Jupiter Fla and went to his garage expecting a ’77 Bandit Trans Am, nope, a Buick GNX.
Interesting – disappointing yet not. Good taste in fast cars.
Personally, I’d rock the ’77 Trans Am
Actually, Burt got exactly one, in 1978. When the next year’s car didn’t arrive, he called Pontiac to find out why. They told him that the executive who made him that offer passed away, and the deal died with him.
Helluva way to treat the man who singlehandedly added decades to Pontiac’s life while preventing the complete extinction of the muscle car as we know it.
Lady Gaga driving around in 1st gen F150 Lightning has always been incredibly cool, and just a bit odd.