Celebrity cars that sell for millions and how to tell if yours has a secret claim to fame

Buying a car from someone you know can be a good idea. We can make a pretty good guess as to how it was treated based on their personality and penchant for exuberance, so we’ll rush to buy the little runaround sold by the local librarian – and steer clear of the hooligan’s hot hatchback .

But what if you only know the owner because you see them on TV or in the movies? Cars owned by celebrities are often worth more than an identical car with an unknown person’s name on the license plate.

Later this month, Iconic Auctioneers will sell a number of cars linked to household names including Jeremy Clarkson, Stirling Moss and the Aga Khan. They are expected to set new records for cars of their type, but are they worth it?

“Celebrity cars definitely command a big premium,” says Jim Ronan, an auctioneer who has been selling vehicles for more than 30 years. “This is especially true with classic cars, as owners like to talk about them at every opportunity, so a story from the past about a famous owner is a great conversation starter that elevates their car above similar models in the club or at a show .”

Rob Hubbard, managing director of Iconic Auctioneers, agrees: “It’s undeniable that celebrity ownership adds to the value of a vehicle at auction, but how much depends on the celebrity’s popularity.”

They don’t get much more popular than Diana, Princess of Wales, so when her Ford Escort RS Turbo went under the hammer in 2022, it sparked a bidding war that eventually sold for £722,500 including tax . A similar model without the royal connection would be worth around £30,000.

While the late Princess sets the bar high for desirability, other royal cars have also proven popular with buyers. Hubbard says, “Royal provenance always adds considerable value. Last November, Queen Elizabeth II’s Range Rover sold for £132,750. A car of that age with over 109,000 miles would normally only fetch £5,000 to £10,000.”

This car, registered BN04EPU, had been sold at auction three months before the sale for £33,000, with only circumstantial evidence that it had once been owned by the late Queen. The clever new owner then spent weeks searching for more evidence and eventually found a video of the monarch driving the green Vogue to a horse racing venue. This was enough to increase the value by almost £100,000.

This kind of evidence is essential, says Ed Callow of auction site Collecting Cars: “You need to establish that there is proof of ownership, such as an original or copy of the V5C registration document showing the name and address, signed correspondence or photos of her using the car. The more documentation you have on file, the higher the price.”

Even with this evidence, the King’s cars are still not as desirable as his mother’s. A Jaguar I-Pace bought in 2018 by then-Prince Charles was the first electric car provided to the royal family. It sold in April this year for £64,960 – around three times the value of a similar car.

Even royal cars look like bargains compared to a Ferrari that was owned by two stars. Radio host Chris Evans paid £5.6 million in 2005 for a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder, which had once been owned by Great Escape actor James Coburn. Evans kept it for two years but claims he lost £2m when he sold it, mainly because it had the wrong engine rather than his name on the registration document.

“Once you start considering cars at this level, any celebrity angle can be somewhat redundant,” says Callow. “We sold a 1997 Ferrari F50 previously owned by Rod Stewart for almost £3m. Obviously, you don’t get that many chances to buy an F50, so the condition and history of the car will almost always be far more important factors in the price than any particular provenance.”

The cars that go on sale at the Silverstone Festival on August 24 should be a little more affordable. For example, a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 500SL, which was supplied new to racing legend Stirling Moss, has an estimate of between £35,000 and £40,000; about double the normal value.

For a more affordable royal car, a 2004 Audi A6 All-Road 4.2 V8 that was specially built for Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini – better known as the Aga Khan IV – is expected to fetch 30,000 to 40,000 of pounds sterling.

Some cars don’t even need to have been owned by a celebrity to get a useful increase in value. The auction will include a 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth which was loaned to Jeremy Clarkson for a period of 12 months as a long-term loan for evaluation purposes and which was included in some coverage. Auctioneer Jim Ronan says he previously sold a 1999 Jaguar XJR that was driven by the TV star in a similar arrangement and was double its original estimate.

However, not all cars with celebrity connections are safe investments. For example, a Range Rover with a well-known previous owner struggled to sell more than a car with no famous connections. The bright pink Vogue carried the registration KP11HOT and was regularly featured in tabloid newspapers at the time, with its owner Katie Price at the wheel. The former glamor model and reality TV star was forced to sell the car in 2019 and raised just £10,000.

Fortunately, negative connections are rare, and there are plenty of cars with an undiscovered hidden past that could mean they’re worth more. Vehicles that have an odd specification were first registered to the manufacturer or a film company could have been loaned to celebrities, royalty or used in TV production. Try googling the registration or make, model and color and see if your car has any notoriety. A little research could mean you double its value.

Top 5 celebrity car prices at auction

£8 million (in 2015)

Rowan Atkinson’s 1997 McLaren F1

£5.6 million (in 2005)

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder – ex James Coburn and Chris Evans

£4.3 million (in 2016)

Jerry Seinfeld’s 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

£2.9 million (in 2023)

Rod Stewart’s 1997 Ferrari F50

£2.3 million (in 1985)

John Lennon’s 1966 Rolls-Royce Phantom V

£2 million (in 2011)

Fred Astaire’s 1955 Ferrari Monza Scaglietti Spider

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.