Cars have been a status symbol for a long time. While there are luxury cars within reach of the average person, some have been exclusively saved for top-level businesspeople and celebrities. In fact, celebrities often have cars that are worthy of a little automobile envy. They have been customized, tricked out, and tailored with the ultimate in technology. What do these cars look like, and who gets to drive them? Well, the answer is changing all the time because someone new is always willing to step forward and take the top spot. But rest assured, even though some of these vehicles might not be the most expensive tomorrow—they are the most expensive today. Here’s what it looks like to be a celebrity driver with plenty of money to burn.
The $407,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead
If you can bend it like Beckham, you may just end up with a stunning Phantom of your own. This completely customized luxury vehicle is a flawless black beast. It’s a little strange to see it toting car seats and some kiddos—but hey, who is anyone to judge? Most people have the car seats, but not the Rolls. The slick convertible is often mentioned for its Savini Forged wheels. Looks like football—the kind with a round black and white ball—really is the world’s most popular sport.
A $500,000 Mercedes Addition to an Extensive Collection
Jay Leno has a 17,000 square foot space that houses his beloved automobiles. Never mind that most of us are fantasizing about a 7,000 square foot house. His priciest ride is the sleek and sinful Mercedes SLR McLaren. It’s a silver fantasy with Formula 1 technology. The SLR McLaren boasts scissor doors, body-contoured carbon fiber sport seats and a glowing starter button that begs to be pushed. Start polishing your standup routine and maybe you’ll find yourself laughing all the way home from the Mercedes dealership. Just don’t get a speeding ticket on the way.
A Porche Worthy of the $700,000 Price Tag
Jerry Seinfeld is yet another reason to consider comedy as a career. It’s obviously paid off, and helped him build a drool-inducing Porche collection. His shiny gold (or should we say silver) star goes to his Porche 959. Standing out among the 45 other Porche’s in his fleet, there were only 337 of this particular model made between 1986 and 1989. It’s curvy, pristine, and most likely a lot of fun to drive. When it first hit the streets, it was the fastest of street-legal production vehicles out there. Its top speed of 195 mph is still not too shabby.
A Bugatti Veyron That Cost 1.7 Million
This car basically blows Seinfeld’s cute ride right out of the water. And who owns it? None other than the snarky talent show judge, Simon Cowell. He gives hope to the cranky and cynical, and proves that he’s probably having a helluva good time outside his job. Your only hope for owning the supercharged Bugatti Veyron is a resale. The last one sold recently, and will be on display at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Some excellent facts about the Veyron: It’s the first vehicle to top the 1,000 Horsepower mark, the last one produced was fittingly named “La Finale” and is a Grand Sport Viresse model, and since 2005 a very limited 450 have been produced. The doors are shut on this chapter in Volkswagen AG’s history—it’s exciting to see what they’ll come up with next.
Other Bugatti Veyron flaunters include some A-list celebrities and sports figures.
- Birdman has a 2 million dollar version of this popular, sought-after car
- Karim Benzema, a Real Madrid football superstar, has a known love of sweating money and lavishly displaying his purchases. He paid a whopping 1.2 million pounds (remember that's more in US currency) for his
- Flo Rida has a can’t-miss-him, flashy gold Buratti worth an uber-cool 2.7 million
- Lil’ Wayne possesses one that inspired a song aptly titled “Bugatti”
- The Game’s black and yellow ride is often seen cruising Beverly Hills
Jay Z’s 8-Million-Dollar Toy
Boys and their toys. The list wouldn’t be complete without a solid salute to Jay Z’s Maybach Exelero. It’s batmobile-esque machine that has been featured in one of his videos. The ownership of this exceptional vehicle is murky at best. It was originally sold to Birdman, but word on the street is he didn’t quite pay for it. Jay Z is the most recent driver, and as long as you get to take it out for a spin as often as you’d like, then who really cares whose it is? Although at one point a one-and-only vehicle, the Maybach Exelero is now offered to the public—if you can afford it.
Keep your eye on the world of cars. Tomorrow's most expensive car is just right around the corner.
Photo | 2011 BMW 650i Convertible - NRMA Drivers Seat | by NRMA Motoring and Services | Used under Creative Commons image attribution license 2.0
