For years, celebrities have been known to buy, collect, and even race fast cars. For many, the need for speed is real. Most of these cars are expensive, but for celebrities who can afford it, it’s no big deal.
What does end up being a big deal is when they cause a serious accident. Unfortunately, many celebrities have been convicted of crimes like reckless driving, DUI, and even vehicular manslaughter for causing fatal crashes. For example, Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller), Rebecca Gayheart (Jawbreaker), and Amy Locane (Cry Baby) were all convicted of vehicular manslaughter and received varying sentences.
Other celebrities have had to pay significant compensation to crash victims in personal injury lawsuits after suffering catastrophic injuries. While it’s nice to have a fast car, it doesn’t mix well with alcohol, drugs, or careless actions. This is something Justin Bieber learned pretty early on in his career. In addition to speeding around his gated community and engaging in high-speed chases with paparazzi, he also managed to injure one that got pinned between his and another driver’s car.
So why do celebrities love fast cars, anyway? Is it just the ability to drive fast? Do they love the power? The feeling of flying down the highway, zipping through traffic and flying past everyone else? The answer depends on the individual, but it’s almost always a combination of all those reasons and more.
1. Driving fast is fun
Most people would probably agree that driving fast is fun, even if it’s not all that safe. This is one of the biggest reasons celebrities are drawn to fast cars – it just feels good to drive fast.
If you’ve ever gone from driving a car with no acceleration power to one that packs a punch, you know the thrill of being able to overtake someone on the freeway or even just blast by them changing lanes. That feeling can be intoxicating and addicting, but also thrilling. When your car is fast enough to pass everyone on the highway, it kind of feels like you’re flying.
2. Fast cars tend to be exotic
Another big draw is the fact that many of the fastest cars happen to also be exotic. Makes like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, McLaren, Porsche, and Aston Martin are known for making some of the fastest supercars around. Exotic cars combine luxury and status with speed. They look and sound amazing, and are a symbol of wealth. Granted, most people automatically assume celebrities are rich, but they still want to look cool driving through town.
3. Racing is exhilarating
While some celebrities buy fast cars as a daily driver, many of them actually race them, either professionally or illegally. For example, Tom Cruise loves racing, although he’s apparently not that great and earned the nickname “See Cruise Crash.” Many other celebrities have taken up racing in some form, like Michelle Rodriguez, Patrick Dempsey, and Steve McQueen. Even radio personality Adam Carolla has won professional races.
4. Collecting cars is a fun hobby
When you have enough money to collect expensive items, cars are almost always one of the top choices. There are countless celebrities with large car collections that range from classics to supercars. Collecting exotic supercars, however, has become a trend.
For example, rapper Eminem has a 1999 Porsche 996 Turbo, a 2003 Ferrari 575M Maranello, a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, a 2008 Ferrari 430 Scuderia, a 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C, a 2014 Lamborghini Aventador, a 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, and several others.
Other rappers, like Drake, Missy Elliott, Soulja Boy, Jay-Z, T-Pain, and Rick Ross, have even more impressive car collections that are valued at several-to-tens of millions of dollars.
5. Speed is forbidden
In our society, speeding will get you traffic tickets and there are worse consequences for getting too many. There’s something alluring about what is forbidden, and fast cars are attractive for that reason.
It’s a status thing
No matter what the specs are for a given car, pretty much every exotic and fast supercar is desirable because it projects a celebrity’s status, not just as wealthy, but it’s often a symbol of their accomplishment and how they’ve finally “made it” in the industry.
For many celebrities who grew up poor and had to work extremely hard to get where they are, being able to buy fast cars symbolizes their success as an artist. It’s a way of not just showing the world that they’ve achieved their goals, but it gives them the tangible experience of success every time they drive.