Should you buy a celebrity’s car?

Every now and then, a Porsche comes on the market which has been owned by a celebrity and, as such, is priced at a premium. For instance, a couple of years ago David Beckham’s rather nice Porsche 993 Carrera S (above) came on the market and sold for more than one would expect such a 993 to be worth, simply because it was linked to the famous footballer. Beckham’s obviously a man with good taste, incidentally, because he has since but a 1969 911S in Slate Grey, like the famous Steve McQueen car featured in the film Le Mans.

Speaking of which, McQueen’s actual car (above) – surely one of the most famous Porsches of all time – sold recently for $1.3-million (about £700,000) which is a heck of a premium over a standard 911S which you’d expect to pay around £100,000 for. However, that is as much to do with the car’s legendary film appearance as its famous owner.

Should you pay over the odds for a celebrity owned car? It’s a risky strategy as famous people can quickly go out of favour with the public. This year’s pop idol could well be back stacking shelves in the supermarket in ten years. Or, worse still, they could become involved in a scandal. Take pity on the poor chap who paid £160,000 (probably £100,000 more than you’d expect) for Jimmy Saville’s Rolls Royce (registration JS247) with the hope of renting it out for weddings and children’s parties. Ouch!

So my feeling is, a famous owner can be an interesting part of a Porsche’s history and could make it easier to sell but I certainly wouldn’t pay (or ask) a premium for such a car.

There maybe one Porsche, however, that would be worth paying a premium for, if it still exists, and that’s the 550 Spyder (above) which actor James Dean was killed in. The Porsche is claimed to have been cursed, with Alec Guinness telling the young Dean “If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week,” and was seven days before the fatal crash. Later, a car that had been fitted with parts from Dean’s car crashed, killing the driver, while there were many stories of injuries caused by the famous Little Bastard and its parts. There’s a fair chance that the car has been broken up and nothing remains of it, but it did make an appearance, it would attract huge interest at auction. The new owner would have to very careful not to fall under its curse, though…

By the way, the nearest I got to a celebrity Porsche was a 911 Carrera 3.2 which, it was claimed, Robbie Williams was once a passenger in. I didn’t bother promoting the fact…