We often discuss the cars that go along with celebrities' absurdly lavish lifestyles like Kylie Jenner's G-Wagon or Paul McCartney's Corvette. But you see at least 20 Mercedes on your way to work (200 if you live in the city) and twice as many Chevy's... so perhaps we should dig deeper, no?
Maybe a Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Porsche has your eyes wide, and surely, one of those glamorous brands is our candidate, right? Not quite.
Imagine if there was a car that you would never see 200 of because there were never that many to begin with, and that's if you ever see one at all. Of course, I'm speaking of the oh-so-holy McLaren F1, the exclusive car club of exclusive car clubs.
George Harrison Bought One
You can always count on a Beatle to have interesting cars, but while McCartney's Corvette was a surprisingly cheap choice, Harrison's taste in the F1 is that of many legendary figures. Jay Leno, Ralph Lauren, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and even royalty like the Sultan of Brunei owns them. The sultan has owned 10 F1s in total including 5 road cars, 3 of the 6 LMs ever made, 1 of the 3 GTs ever made, and 1 of the 28 GTRs ever made - most of which have never seen a mile on the odometer.
Harrison, however, was a man of modest means (relative to his riches) and had enough self-control to buy just 1, which, like all the other customer bought F1s, was custom ordered and built to his exact liking. In George's case, a dark purple pearl exterior and satin black wheel combination was fitted to the car.
A Fervent Interest
Eric Clapton, one of the world's best guitarists who is known for his roles in bands Cream, Derek and The Dominoes, The Yardbirds, and Blind Faith, as well as a very successful solo career, was close friends with George Harrison for years spanning from the late 60's until the end of Harrison's battle with cancer in 2001.
This meant that Eric always had an inkling for what George was up to, whether it be an album, or a new car. Evidently, Clapton had seen all the hype surrounding the then-new McLaren F1 (1992) and knew about George's purchase in '94.
Once Harrison had the beautiful road car in his possession, Clapton offered to buy it off of him several times over the course of the next half-decade, but to no avail. George, presumably, wouldn't sell it to him, not because he wanted to sell it at auction for more money, but because he adored the car to no end.
Rumor has it that George would politely pester the McLaren offices frequently as his car was being built, calling to ask when it was done and soon they could have it delivered. From the very beginning, George was obsessed with his F1, so much in fact, that the family has kept it and still own it nearly 20 years after his death in '01. Sorry, Eric.