Topic channel
Celebrity Cars – Cars from film, radio and television
About this topic channel
Cars owned by famous personalities, particularly from the film, entertainment, and music industries, consistently fetch significantly higher prices at auctions than "normal" classic cars. This channel is dedicated to all these vehicles, the so-called "Cars of the Stars" or "Celebrity Cars."
Premium
Bonhams Miami Auction 2026 - with expensive Buggy and contested Porsche 993
On the occasion of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami, Bonhams organized an auction of automobiles on the morning of 3 May 2026, just like last year. On offer were 31 cars worth USD 41.4 million. A total of 17 vehicles were sold for an average of around USD 886,000. While young hyper sports cars fetched high prices, a Meyers Manx Buggy and the Porsche 993 Cabriolet owned by Gene Hackman came as a surprise. This auction review analyzes the results and shows the vehicles in pictures.
Bonhams auctions extensive movie car collection online
Film cars are sought-after trophies, as we have known since the successful auction of the Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R from Fast & Furios 4 for USD 1.36 million. From November 21 to 28, 2025, Bonhams is bringing 50 cars from film and television under the hammer from Paris, supplemented by automobilia and film props. The lots come from a museum and will be offered without a reserve price
Premium
Marilyn Monroe and her Mercedes-Benz 170 S
With the 170 S, Mercedes-Benz presented the first new design of the post-war period, even if, on closer inspection, it was more of a mixture and evolution of pre-war models. One of the more than 28,000 examples built between 1949 and 1952 was used by Marilyn Monroe in the mid-sixties. This car is presented in many pictures in this article.
The super icon - Steve McQueen's Porsche 917 from the movie Le Mans
Sometimes everything just comes together. In this case, the Porsche917 , one of the most famous racing cars of all time and a two-time Le Mans winner, and Steve McQueen, one of the most charismatic actors of all time. McQueen was not only a good racing driver, he loved racing and in 1971 he poured this affection into what is probably the best racing film of all time: Le Mans. And the car that was so important in this movie will now be auctioned by Mecum in January 2025. Steve McQueen bought......
Bonhams Quail Lodge 2024 - the Petty-Mustang outshone everything
As part of Monterey/Pebble Beach Week, Bonhams organized the annual Quail Lodge auction on 16 August 2024, at which 107 cars (and a Vespa) went under the hammer alongside a number of Automobila. More than three quarters of the vehicles were sold, with mainly more expensive super classics remaining. Tom Petty's Ford Mustang, however, stole the show. This auction review analyzes the results and shows all the vehicles in pictures.
Stories about a special Rolls-Royce
There are probably exciting stories to tell about almost every Rolls-Royce, but some of the cars simply appeared a little more frequently in world events than others. This is certainly the case with the car that was delivered to Park Ward on December 12, 1947 with chassis number WZB29, where it was given a stately limousine body. The first owner, Baron Louise-Marie-Charles-Adophe Vanderheiden, received the Silver Wraith on June 17, 1948. The Baron remained loyal to the Rolls until his death on......
Would you prefer an accident-damaged car or one in mint condition?
It is not all too often that two almost identical examples of a car in completely different condition come under the hammer within the space of a few weeks. It is indirectly thanks to the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" that the "accident car" from the movie was recently offered by Bonhams in Abu Dhabi and now, a short time later, its undamaged twin at RM/Sotheby's in New York . In both cases, it is a Lamborghini Countach from the "25th Anniversary Edition" from 1989 in the US version, i.e.......
Premium
Bentley 'S' Continental Mulliner Sports Saloon - Helmut Newton's dream car
The Bentley 'S' Continental Sports Saloon with Mulliner coupé body was one of the fastest and most expensive cars of its time. It embodied what was feasible at the time and combined speed and comfort. No wonder the famous photographer Helmut Newton fell in love with this car. This vehicle report tells the story of the 'S' Continental and shows it in many pictures and in the sales literature.
Expensive Bond cars?
The Aston Martin V8 from 1973 almost goes a little under the radar at the RM/Sotheby's auction in Monterey( August 17 to 19, 2023) with over 200 cars, but when you read the estimate of USD 1.4 to 1.8 million at the latest, you realize that this cannot be an ordinary V8, as the chassis number V8/10596/R would actually imply. In fact, the car was used in the 1987 James Bond film "The Living Daylights" and the Aston excelled on an icy lake and in high-speed driving maneuvers. A few Q-tricks not......
Walker's Skyline or Peel's Elan?
The 1966 Lotus Elan S3 driven by Diana Rigg as Emma Peel in the British TV series "The Avengers" changed hands on February 25, 2023 at an auction by Silverstone Auctionsfor EUR 185,603 or CHF 183,960. The 2002 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, which was driven by Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner in the film "Fast & Furious 4", was sold for EUR 1.211 million or CHF 1.218 million in a Bonhams online auction at the beginning of May 2023. Two cars with very similar stories. But while the Elan achieved perhaps......
Silverstone "Race Retro" Auction 2023 - Lotus Festival and Ford Sierra record
164 cars and a trailer were offered at the "Race Retro" auction at Silverstone on February 24 and 25, 2023. On average, the cars were 41 years old. Ford, Lotus, Porsche and MG were the most strongly represented. The sales rate was 63 percent, with an average bid of 84 percent of the median estimate. Records were set for a Ford Sierra RS 500 and a Lotus Elan S3 DHC, among others. This auction review analyzes the results and shows many of the cars in pictures.
Emma Peel's Lotus Elan is for sale
We have reported on this car before, as it is perhaps one of the most famous cars ever used in a television series. Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg, initially drove a white Lotus Elan from series 2, but was then given a blue-metallized Elan from series 3 for the colour-produced series 5 and 6 of the TV series "The Avengers" ("With umbrella, charm and bowler hat"). This very Elan , which the television company gave to Diana Rigg at the time and which the actress apparently hardly used because......
RM/Sotheby's Miami Auction 2022 - young classic cars were the most competitive
Only 14 car brands were represented at the RM/Sotheby's auction in Miami on December 10, 2022. On average, the cars were only 25 years old. Vehicles from the 1980s enjoyed the strongest demand, but cars from the 1990s and 2000s also sold well. On average, the highest bids were almost at the estimated value level. In total, the 58 cars realized almost USD 40 million. This auction review analyzes the results and shows all the vehicles in pictures.
Niki Lauda's first Ferrari sold at auction at a high price
Lauda's first Ferrari was a 365 GT4 2+2 from 1973, a company car. The car has üsurvived and has now been auctioned online by Dorotheum. It fetched around three times what äsimilar vehicles without prominent previous owners cost.
Why not Niki Lauda's Ferrari?
Niki Lauda became F1 world champion in a Ferrari in 1975 and 1977. However, he was already driving for the Scuderia in 1974 and was given a Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 (chassis 17517) as his company car. He obviously liked the coupé painted in Grigio Argento, as there are photos of him washing the car himself. Which F1 champion still washes his car himself today? Despite the great pride of ownership, he soon passed on the car with its export license plates, presumably because there were too many......
RM/Sotheby's London 2022 - Record price for Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
On November 5, 2022, RM/Sotheby's put 49 cars under the hammer in London with an average value of almost one million euros, including many super sports cars. One car, however, outshone them all, namely the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow ex Freddie Mercury, which literally pulverized the estimate. With a sales rate of 78 percent, the overall result was also impressive, even if expectations were not always met. This auction review analyzes the results and shows all the cars in pictures.
The Chantilly Arts & Elégance Concours on 24 and 25 September 2022 honors the cars of Jean-Paul Belmondo
Who doesn't remember Jean-Paul Belmondo and his films? And the Fiat Supermirafiori that he badly maltreated in the movie “Le Professionel”. Better for an appearance at the beauty contest “Chantilly Arts & Elégance”, however, would be other cars from his films and his collection, including a Lorraine-Dietrich, many Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin …
Forgotten movie cars: Buick Roadmaster Convertible
Wait a minute: "Forgotten"? Didn't they write an article about the 1949 Roadmaster and its famous appearance in "Rain Man" just last week? Right, but this isn't about Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman's beige Buick. Because in the shadow of its glory, it is often overlooked that the 1949 Roadmaster Convertible Sedan had already made a major appearance in a film twelve years before Barry Levinson's classic: in the 1976 high school B-movie "Revenge of the Cheerleaders". The plot centers on Gail and......
Premium
Buick Roadmaster Convertible Sedan - an excellent car with movie history
While the term "roadmaster" is more commonly used here to describe the plugging of potholes on the highway, the name "Roadmaster" was used in the USA for 13 years to describe the top model in the Buick range. The 1949 model in particular is especially well-known and popular today, for which - as is so often the case - a movie is not entirely innocent. This article tells the story of the Buick Roadmaster and its siblings Special and Super and shows them in many current and historical pictures.
There's music in the air
"Rosso Monza" is not exactly one of the most common colors in which you see a Ferrari F355 Spider driving around. But that alone would not be a reason to write about the car here. However, the vehicle pictured belonged to Herbie Hancock, one of the most famous jazz musicians and composers (including "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man", "Rockit", "Chameleon", etc.) from 1997 to 2014. He obviously didn't drive his Ferrari too much, because even today, seven years after selling it, the......
Loading...