The most impressive car collections in the world

If you had all the money in the world and wanted to put together the classic car collection of your dreams, which vehicles would you choose? Every classic car lover has a dream team they would build if they become filthy rich. How do real-life millionaire car lovers spend their cash?

Let’s look at the stunning collections created by some of the world’s millionaires and billionaires. Health warning – this article will lead to intense feelings of jealousy. If it helps to reduce the envy, think of the eye-watering classic car insurance premiums these millionaires must pay!

Jay Leno

American talk show host Jay Leno has hosted countless celebrities on his late-night chat show. When he’s off screen, Leno obviously prefers chatting to engines. He has almost 290 cars and bikes, worth around $50 million. His collection is so drool-worthy, he even has a show called Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC where he showcases his best buys.

Gems of the collection include a Duesenberg Model X – only five of these exist in the world, and Leno has the keys to one. There’s also a 1906 Stanley Steamer, a wonderful throwback vehicle powered by steam and made from wood. He has a 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, one of nine known surviving vehicles. It’s not all about older cars, though, Leno also has a 2006 EcoJet, built in his own garage specially for him. Keeping your car in secure premises will bring down your classic vehicle insurance premiums, but that’s still got to be a hefty bill.

Lady Gaga

She only passed her driving test in 2016, but Lady Gaga has wasted no time in building a luxurious collection of classic cars. She has a mix of modern, hi-tech wonders and laidback vintage vehicles. Top picks include a mint blue Chevy Nova SS and a black Chevy El Camino, a Mercedes-Benz W123, a Ford F-150 Pick Up and a Ford Mustang.

Lady Gaga also loves modern luxury cars. She has a gorgeous Porsche Boxster, two Rolls-Royce Phantoms and a Lamborghini Huracan. The music star loves to include fancy cars in her music videos and appearances – she once kicked off an album tour by arriving at a gig in Elvis Presley’s 1955 pink Cadillac coupe deVille, borrowed for the occasion. Let’s hope the classic car insurance covered carrying a superstar.

Jerry Seinfeld

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld made a mint from his self-titled sitcom TV show, Seinfeld. Said to be worth around $820 million, Seinfeld has poured a lot of his wealth into a cracking car collection. The star’s collection is so vast that he hires an aircraft hangar to store them. Porsches are his weakness – Seinfeld has 43 of the VIP vehicles.

The cherries on the cake for this collection are a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, a rare racing model. Only 90 Spyders were ever made. Seinfeld also has a 1949 Porsche 356/2 Gmünd, number 40 out of the 52 that were made. The TV star likes speedy models, too – he has a 1970 Porsche 908/03, designed to compete in the World Sportscar Championship endurance races. Seinfeld loves his cars so much, he bought a second property near his New York home some of his collection are stored in an underground car park, with a team of workers to care for them.

The Sultan of Brunei

Ruler of a tiny, oil-rich sultanate in Southeast Asia, the Sultan of Brunei has a stonkingly huge collection of cars. This is what you can buy when money is no object. The Sultan has approximately 7,000 cars, including over 300 Ferraris, 20 Koenigseggs, 6 Porsche 962 LMs, 11 McLaren F1s and 600 Rolls-Royces.

The huge collection includes many bespoke vehicles, such as the Ferrari FX – the Sultan’s nephew wanted a semi-automatic, so Ferrari made one specially for him. How about the Ferrari Testarossa F90 Speciale? Only six of these gorgeous cars were ever made; the Sultan snapped up all six of them.

If you fancy following in the Sultan’s footsteps with a retro Porsche, make sure you’ve got the right classics insurance in place.

Ralph Lauren

Fashion icon Ralph Lauren believes in beauty on the road as well as the catwalk. With a net worth of over $6 billion, Lauren is one of the richest people in America and his car collection shows it. Starting out in 1971 with a Mercedes 280SE 4.5 convertible, the collection has ballooned over the decades to rank among the world’s greatest car treasure troves.

Highlights of the collection include a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe – a curvy, sexy black coupe which is one of only three surviving models, valued at around $40 million. Another rarity is the 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK Count Trossi, with classic styling and streamlining to die for. Lauren also has a 1955 Jaguar XKD, a factory-built racing car with a powerful engine and an unforgettable silhouette.

Rowan Atkinson

Mr Bean might not be a sophisticated fellow, but the comic character has enabled actor Rowan Atkinson to acquire some of the smoothest wheels around. He has an Aston Martin V8 Zagato, a Bentley Mulsanne Birkin edition and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead.

Atkinson had a rare purple McLaren F1 which was big news when it launched in 1992. Capable of achieving speeds of up to 240mph, Atkinson managed to crash his McLaren twice, resulting in the largest ever classic car insurance payout of £910,000. Maybe the accidents put him off, as Atkinson sold the vehicle for a cool £8 million.

Dmitry Lomakov

Russian businessman Dmitry Lomakov has so many cars, he’s opened his own museum to show them off. Controversially, the tycoon likes to buy classic cars once used by Nazi leaders. He has a midnight blue Mercedes-Benz 770K that once belonged to Hitler, as well as Hermann Goering’s Horch-853 limousine and Martin Boorman’s Mercedes-Benz 320. The businessman says collecting Nazi cars is a way of celebrating Russian victory in World War II.

Lomakov also has a fascinating collection of Russian-made classic vehicles, such as the 1977 Chaika GAZ-13. There’s also a 1914 Peugeot motorcycle, which is the last of its kind. If you ever find yourself in Moscow, why not pop into Lomakov’s museum?

Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan

Billionaire Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan doesn’t do things by halves. His car collection has to be seen to be believed – some of his vehicles are nothing short of bonkers. For example, the oil Sheikh has a five-storey, 100,000 pound Dodge Powerwagon, made with tyres from an oil rig and wipers from an ocean liner. The tailgate is big enough to serve as a patio when lowered. The monster truck has a practical purpose though – the Powerwagon’s size gives it an advantage in negotiating desert terrain.

The Sheikh also has a rolling globe-shaped caravan on wheels with nine bedrooms inside, as well as more typical classic cars including a first-generation Porsche Boxster. Known as the Rainbow Sheikh, Hamad likes to buy sets of seven Mercedes at a time, one in each shade of the rainbow. The Sheikh has built a pyramid-shaped warehouse in the desert to store his vehicles.

Wyclef Jean

Rapper Wyclef Jean made his name with the Fugees in the 1990s, and has been successful as a performer and actor ever since. The hip hop superstar has used his wealth to amass a spectacular collection of classic cars. He has at least two Rolls-Royces, including a 1958 Silver Cloud and a Phantom. A customised Bentley Arnage features interior decor featuring Wyclef’s initials.

Jean also has a 1954 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz in mint condition, a Lamborghini Murcielago with a super speedy V12 engine, a red Pagani Zonda C12 with a carbon fibre body, a Ferrari 360 Spider and a Hummer H2.

David Beckham

He’s not short of a bob or two, and one of the ways Beckham likes to spend his millions is by splashing out on classic cars. Most of his collection was made in Britain – he has a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Rolls-Royce Ghost, a Bentley Continental Supersport and a Bentley Mulsanne.

For days when he wants to drive something with a bit more zip, the footballing legend has a Jaguar F-Type and a McLaren MP4-12C Spider. Apparently, Beckham’s first car was a secondhand Ford Escort that he bought from Ryan Giggs for £6,000, so the Essex lad has come a long way.

Jay Kay

When Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay sang ‘Future’s made of virtual insanity’ he might have been talking about the crazy collection of wheels he’d buy with music royalties. The diamond in the crown of the collection is a grey Ferrari 275 GTB which he bought for around £2.5 million as a 40th birthday present to himself – not a bad way to go over the hill!

Jay Kay also has a Ferrari Laferrari in garish green, a McLaren 675 LT, a classic Ferrari Vignale 330 GT and a Lamborghini Diablo SE30 JOTA. The collection includes more modest classic cars, too – an Aston Martin DB6 MK1 Volante, a cute Abarth 100 with a 1000cc engine, and a BMW Bauer convertible.

Chris Evans

TV and radio presenter Chris Evans is a true petrolhead – he even had a short-lived stint presenting Top Gear. Evans has a whole heap of Ferraris, including a TR61 Spyder Fantuzzi, a 250 GT California Spyder, a 250 GTO and a 275 GTB/6C and some McLarens including a curvy red 675LT.

Evans likes characterful cars as well. He has a fully functional Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, a Ford Escort Mexico (these were used as rally cars in the 60s and 70s), a VW Beetle, a Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster and a charming little Fiat 126.

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani

Indian tycoon Ambani is worth an estimated $72 billion – he’s the richest man in Asia and the 13th richest in the world. Ambani’s collection is not just about him, as his three adult children Isha, Akash and Anant are also fanatical about cars. Between them, they share a whole fleet of breathtaking vehicles.

With that much wealth, Ambani gets around in a customised armoured BMW 760i for his own protection. He also has a Maybach 62, a Mercedes-Benz Maybach 660 Guard (with customised armour plating), a Bentley Bentayga, a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan and a Lamborghini Urus. With many of the vehicles, the Ambanis are the first to ever bring that vehicle to India.

How do you start a classic car collection?

If you’re thinking of building your own dream team of shiny classic cars, there are a few things you should bear in mind. Owning a classic car collection should be a joyful thing, rather than bringing you extra stress. Choose carefully and you will be able to have years of pleasure from your classic cars.

First things first – before you decide which car or cars to buy, you need to think about storage. If you do not have a suitably secure locked garage at home, you could use a specialist storage facility. Consider how far away the facility is though, as you will want to be able to go for a spin without driving for hours in your everyday car.

Research is also vital. You need to understand the full costs, such as classic car insurance, that any new purchase will require. Maintenance costs can also be steep for classic cars, especially if they need costly rare parts. If you want to do maintenance yourself, you should know how much time this will realistically take – otherwise your favourite hobby could become a chore.

If building up your own collection of beautiful classic cars is not practical or achievable just now, there are lots of other ways to immerse yourself in the world of vintage vehicles. You could collect classic car memorabilia, attend events (real or virtual) or join an owners club – you’re sure to meet like-minded enthusiasts and they might even take you for a spin in their classic.

No matter how many classics you’ve got, protect them all with classic car insurance. Get a quick quote from Lancaster today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.