The Most Expensive Cars Ruined By Celebrities
Living the dream in la la land sometimes entails spending ridiculous amounts of money to combat boredom or get some thrills. It's a tough job, but much of the world dreams of doing just that. Life in the fast lane often involves fast cars, and whether a driver is jonesing for speed or seeking the lap of luxury, fancy cars are a staple in the entertainment industry. Sadly, so are car accidents.
Supercars can be too much for non-professional drivers to handle, and while safety features aren't sexy, they're some of the most important factors to consider in any vehicle purchase. Celebs usually insure their cars for their monetary value, but you can't put a price on staying alive. Supercars and Birkins are now two of the world's safest investments, with the latter even described by Time as "a better investment than gold." But some of these Hollywood hotshots could have better spent their money hiring a driver. With the price tag on some of these vehicles being higher than the cost of the average American home, cheap thrills are definitely not cheap when it comes to cars.
Here are some stories about celebrity car wrecks that will break your heart ... and a few that will make you laugh.
Kris Jenner wrecked her brand-new Rolls Royce
In 2016, TMZ first reported "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" momager Kris Jenner was involved in a collision with a Toyota Prius on Los Angeles' 101 freeway. The tab cited sources claiming the Prius' driver ran a red light and smashed into Jenner's car, crushing the front of the vehicle and causing the airbags to deploy. Her injuries thankfully amounted to only a suspected broken wrist, which is surprising, given the extent of the damage to her car. The white Rolls Royce she was driving, valued at $250,000, was totaled — and only in Jenner's possession for one week prior to the wreck.
Jenner told People, "I'm okay, just shaken up and very sore. I'm feeling very blessed." E! also reported that, the day after the accident, Jenner purchased another Rolls Royce that was delivered to her home. The accident's aftermath was caught on camera because the wreck happened during filming for "KUWTK." Now that the famous family's show is ending, we can't help but wonder: if a Kardashian has a major life event, and the cameras don't catch it, did it really happen?
Lindsay Lohan crashed her Mercedes SLG65 AND a rented Porsche
Lindsey Lohan was no stranger to trouble as she came of age in the 2000s, and car trouble came with the territory. In 2005, a member of the paparazzi following her, according to witnesses, deliberately crashed into Lohan's Mercedes SLG65 with his minivan. While it surely created woes for Lohan (and, we imagine, the photographer, though MTV reports he was not charged because police could not prove his moves were intentional), the incident actually led to some positive changes in California laws surrounding the celebrity/paparazzi dance that can quickly become dangerous, CBS News reports.
NPR reported that Lohan's 2005 Mercedes SLG65 was worth $180,000, and the car later turned up as the "eBay find of the day" on Autoblog in 2007. Damage to LiLo's Mercedes had been repaired, and the car reportedly sold on the online auction site after a starting bid of 110,000.
If that wasn't enough, in 2012, People reported Lohan also totaled a rented black Porsche, which was worth anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000 at the time, by crashing into the rear end of an 18-wheel "dump truck" on Pacific Coast Highway. DailyMail.com reports hospital inspections revealed no major injuries, though Lohan and her assistant were both seen bleeding at the scene, per TMZ.
Rowan Atkinson ruined his McLaren F1 — twice!
While we normally associate the "Mr. Bean" star with driving a Mini, British actor Rowan Atkinson bought a new McLaren F1 in 1997 for around $890,000. During his ownership of the supercar, he saw it through two accidents, 41,000 miles, and "what is thought to be" the most expensive single-car auto insurance claim in British history, DailyMail.com reports.
In 1997, shortly after purchasing the car, Atkinson had an accident in which his McLaren F1 rear-ended a Rover Metro. The actor had the car repaired and drove it for more than a decade, until a second accident in 2011 became the end of his joy rides in the car. While he was driving the car in slick conditions, Atkinson lost control and drove into a tree, at which point the McLaren (shown above in the aftermath) caught fire. Atkinson suffered a broken shoulder in the crash. After the car took more than a year to repair, and a whopping $1.25 million for McLaren to rebuild, the actor lost his love for the McLaren F1 and sold it in 2015.
The "Mr. Bean" star told the Daily Telegraph (via DailyMail.com), "I bought it for the quality of the thinking that went into its design, and now it has become a thing of value it is time for it to be enjoyed by someone else." The Brit sold the sports car in 2015 for over $11 million. Not a bad profit for having literally had such a wild ride with the car!
Elon Musk also crashed his McLaren F1 — and it was uninsured
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased a McLaren F1 using funds from the sale of his first software startup to Compaq in 1999. CNN recorded the delivery of the car, during which Musk's then-fiancee noted the $1 million price tag as "decadent." The Drive reports Musk and fellow tech investor Peter Thiel were on their way to a meeting seeking funds for what would become PayPal when Thiel reportedly asked Musk what the McLaren F1 "could do." In a 2012 interview with PandoDaily, Musk said the final words he said before the crash were, "Watch this!"
The Drive described the accident in detail: "Musk buried the accelerator and tried to change lanes. With no traction control, the rear wheels instantly broke free and sent the million-dollar car into a spin ... The F1 speared nose-first into a 45-degree embankment on the side of the road, catching about three feet of air as it bounced off and kept twirling in space ... Finally, it landed back on the road pointing in the original direction of travel."
Neither Musk nor Thiel were injured, but the car saw major damage to its body, windshield, and suspension. Thiel told The New York Times Musk said after the crash, "You know, I had read all these stories about people who made money and bought sports cars and crashed them. But I knew it would never happen to me, so I didn't get any insurance."
Afrojack wrecked his Ferrari 458 Italia almost immediately
Dutch D.J. Afrojack, real name Nick van de Val, wrecked his Ferrari 458 Italia in 2013, 44 minutes after taking possession of the car. Afrojack told Forbes, "Cars for me are like a piece of art. Even though I was really happy that I was completely fine and alive ... I also felt bad that I just wrecked an art piece." According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Ferrari 458 Italia cost $240,000 at the time. A mid-engined, two-seat sports car that can go from 0-60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds, the 458 is essentially a Ferrari Formula One race car designed for the street.
GTSpirit.com reports Afrojack shared the mishap with fans in a series of since-deleted tweets. Afrojack published a photo of the crash damage and himself with both passengers, none of whom thankfully showed any injuries. The photo was captioned, "Ok that sucks, good thing were all ok!!!! lesson in life: dont drive a Ferrari in sh*t weather!" Apparently, the transition from an all-wheel drive car to the rear-wheel drive Ferrari 458 Italia didn't go as smoothly as he'd hoped.
Tiger Woods rolled over a borrowed 2021 Genesis SUV
When Genesis sponsored the Genesis Invitational PGA Tour event in February 2021, the luxury carmaker hoped the tournament would raise its profile in a positive way. Genesis' sales ranked "30th out of 31 major brands," in 2020, according to USA Today, with Autotrader Executive Analyst Michelle Krebs telling the outlet that the Genesis brand "has a lot of building to do." In that vein, tournament winner Max Homa received a GV80 as part of his prize package, and Tiger Woods was loaned a GV80 to drive the week of the tournament. Then, Woods lost control of the car while driving through Rolling Hills Estates in Los Angeles, and rolled it over several times, causing Woods serious leg injuries.
The good news? Woods' injuries could have been worse, and AutoEvolution reports the Genesis' airbag system and seat belt likely saved his life. The bad news? All press isn't necessarily good press. The day after Woods' crash, USA Today reported that the manufacturer of Genesis had 17 cars on the 2021 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety list of Top Safety Picks, which is more than any other car manufacturer, but that news was deeply buried amid the coverage of Woods' crash.
While Genesis is a luxury brand, its vehicles are produced by the same Korean auto manufacturer as Hyundai and Kia. A fully-loaded GV80 costs under $75,000, according to The Car Connection, which makes it the lowest-priced car on our list.
Eric Bana crashed a red 1973 XB Ford Falcon Coupe
Australian actor Eric Bana's first car was a red 1973 XB Ford Falcon Coupe. He described his dubious purchase of the car when he was 15 years old to The Guardian. "It was a shady deal. The guy who was selling it almost stacked [crashed] the car as he drove home from the pub to show it to us. The exchange was pretty, uh, swift, and I was very happy that the cops didn't come knocking on my door afterwards." Bana later said the car was "a rusty shell" but that he wanted that particular model so badly, he didn't care.
Bana decided to turn the Falcon into a race car to enter the Targa Tasmania tarmac rally in 1996, HotRod reports. Auto restoration expert Steve Tupek then turned the car into a fine racing machine. Bana headed back to Targa to race the Falcon in 2007, MotorTrend reports, but he ended up crashing the car into a tree and nearly ending himself, his passenger, and the car. Thankfully, all three survived and thrived. Bana loves the car so much he made a documentary about it entitled "Love the Beast."
The incident shaped the "Hulk" actor's view of racing. He said, "As a racer, you really care about the result, and when you care about the result you most definitely cannot race in a car you love." So, the Falcon has been retired from racing.
Cristiano Ronaldo destroyed his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
Pro-Football (Soccer) player Cristiano Ronaldo is a supercar aficionado, and his collection includes an Aston Martin DB9, Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sports Coupe, Audi Q7, Audi R8, Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, BMW M6, Bentley Continental GTC, Bugatti Chiron, and three Ferraris. Sadly, one of those Ferraris, a 599 GTB Fiorano for which he paid £200,000 according to DailyMail.com, had an untimely demise inside the Manchester tunnel in 2009.
The Guardian reports Ronaldo lost control of his car while traveling through the tunnel with his then-teammate Edwin van der Sar directly behind him. According to police, Ronaldo's car "collided with a barrier in the tunnel." The front of Ronaldo's Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano was smashed into a jumble, and its wheels were found "200 yards away from the scene" of the accident.
Ronaldo wasn't injured, and it didn't seem his feelings were too hurt, either, over his totaled Ferrari. The $278,000 599 GTB Fiorano was one of many cars like it in his garage and was likely seen as just another car to him. ESPN reported the wrecked remains of the car were on sale for $64,810. Market value at the time for the pre-wrecked car was around $160,000. The listing was removed, so perhaps we'll never know whether, in this case, one man's trash became another man's ... scrap?
Eddie Griffin drove his friend's Ferrari Enzo into a wall
Actor Eddie Griffin crashed "Redline" Executive Producer Daniel Sadek's Ferrari Enzo into a concrete wall at the Redline "Race for A Cause" charity car race in Los Angeles, California in 2007. TMZ reports that, after the accident, Griffin said, "Undercover Brother's good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can't drive." Today reports the actor wrecked the $1.5 million car while practicing driving for the charity race accompanying the release of his new film, "Redline." The car was one of only 400 Ferrari Enzos ever produced.
Rumors surfaced, based on the steadiness of a cameraman filming the incident and a man standing next to the wreck, that the entire thing was a hoax or a stunt. During production of "Redline," two of Daniel Sadek's Porsche Carrera GTs were totaled, in a stunt and an accident. We see why eyebrows were raised when Griffin shortly thereafter wrecked the Ferrari Enzo, but it looks like the project simply had really bad loco-mojo. We're pretty sure three supercar wrecks would trigger thorough investigations from Sadek's insurance company.
Sadek told CBS News, ""I'm glad Eddie came out of the crash OK, but my dream car got destroyed. I went to my trailer for about 15 minutes, and I thought, there's people dying every day. A lot of worse things are happening in the world."