Decoding the 'car collector syndrome'

There are many a car lover, among us. In every circle, there is either a friend, an uncle, or a kid cousin obsessed with cars or car-related subjects like performance stats, design, or the engineering behind them. And if it wasn’t for this ‘little thing’ called money, most of these auto paramours would have not one or two vehicles in their garage, but several. You can look at it as a kind of car flu that affects people with a certain genetic disposition, what one could call the ‘Car Collector Syndrome’.

Besides the utility of a car, i.e., for the purpose of commuting between two points that are too far apart for the feet to travel, they also have several other functions. Cars are often seen as an expression of freedom and of individuality. Some say you are what your drive. They can also be pieces of history, tangible evidence of the way of life that once was. And contrary to consensus, they can also serve as investments if one has the eye and patience for it. In fact, a select few models appreciate with time, either thanks to scarcity, rarity, or previous celebrity ownership. And these vehicles may fetch from a few thousand to millions of dirhams over their original sticker price.

Celebrity car collectors

And how much more can this point be validated than by the lives of the people with the moolah, like actors and socialites, the front pagers who can afford to live this dream?

‘The Tonight Show’ host Jay Leno, who is known for his love for the automobile is said to own close to 180 exotic cars. And some 160 motorcycles. He also reviews vehicles on his YouTube channel ‘Jay Leno’s Garage’ which has about 3.5 million subscribers. He couldn’t stop at one and neither could the rest of them.

Rowan Atkinson, the actor extraordinaire who plays a ‘serious’ individual in the comical Mr Bean series, would seem like an unlikely car collector. But besides steering a vintage MINI on the show, he owns several special rides in real life including a purple McLaren F1, the once fastest car in the world, which according to sources has been crashed twice. He is also said to own a 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale, a 1993 Mercedes 500E, and a 2002 Honda NSX, amongst others.

Jerry Seinfeld, one of the wealthiest actors of all time, who was the main talent in the ‘show about nothing’ popularly known as Seinfeld owns close to 150 cars or so. He is known to drive around other celebrities, especially those within the entertainment industry for his YouTube series, ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee’.

Reality TV star and fashion icon Kylie Jenner is also known to be part of more than just family drama. Sources say she is the owner of a Bugatti Chiron, a Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta, a Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster, and a few Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover SUVs.

Famed fashion designer Ralph Lauren also has a love for driveways as he does for runways. And he has previously used some of his vehicles as props for his runway collections. He is said to have the keys to a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, one-of-four Bugatti type 57SC Atlantic cars, a Lamborghini Reventon Roadster, one-of-three 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK roadsters and not one, but two Porsche 918 Spyders.

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