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Eric Clapton splashes out £3 million on bespoke Ferrari

Music legend Eric Clapton has reportedly splashed out a whopping £3million to have a state of the art Ferrari custom made.

The 66-year-old musician is a massive fan of the luxury car brand and boasts some of the most sought after Ferraris ever made amongst his private collection. However the latest addition to Clapton’s sports car collection will put all of his other cars in the dark as Ferrari say they will never build another car like the one just delivered to Clapton.

The Ferrari Special Projects team created the car especially for Eric Clapton using the body of a Ferrari 458 Italia, however the finished article is said to hark back to the 1970’s Ferrari 512 model which is said to be one of the musician’s favourite vehicles.

The custom made sports car bears a very special registration plate as well, SP 12 EPC, which stands for “special project” and then the music star’s initials. The unique car boasts a top speed of 202mph and 0-62mph of just 3.4 seconds.

While Ferrari have refused to discuss the project publically so as to respect the privacy of their famous client, however it’s been reported that the bespoke Ferrari would have cost in the region of £3 million, making the sports car six times more expensive than the most expensive production car from Ferrari, the Enzo.

by Tony RobertsApril 2, 2012no comment

Chauffeur sells Damien Hurst sketch for £4,500

A chauffeur who was given a sketch by contemporary artist Damien Hurst as a thank you for an enjoyable journey, has sold at auction for a massive £4,500, 15 times more than the estimate price placed on the item.

The unnamed chauffeur expected to sell the biro sketch from an autograph book for between £250 and £500 however when the Hurst original went under the hammer, a bidding war broke out with the sketch selling for a final price of £4,500.

It’s understood that the renowned artist quickly sketched an outline of a sharp in about 30 seconds while sitting in the back of a car. The sketch depicts a shark, which is likely to be a reference to Hurst’s most famous work, “The Physical Impossibility of death in the mind of someone living” which was a tiger shark immersed in formaldehyde.

The Damien Hurst sketch with the biro drawn image of a shark features an original signature from the artist and also a brief message which reads “A great drive xxx” stretching across two pages on a pink page as part of the chauffeur’s autograph book. The artist presented the driver with the off-the-cuff sketch after the chauffeur drove him to a TV studios in London several years ago.

The sketch was eventually bought by an anonymous British collector following the auction which took place over last weekend.

by Tony RobertsMarch 29, 2012no comment

Traveller lotto winner splashes his winning on luxury cars

A traveller whose daughter featured on the latest series of the Channel 4 documentary, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, is celebrating after scooping the jackpot on the National Lottery.

Father of four, Jason Stanley, won £1 million after matching his numbers in a lottery draw in February. The horse trader wasted no time in getting in hands on the cheque, spending £200,000 on a Bentley convertible.

The lotto winner’s daughter, Angel, appeared in the Channel 4 documentary earlier this year. The 13-year-old is bucking the trend in the traveller community as she continues to attend school, while many of her contemporaries on the traveller site where she lives opt out of school before they begin secondary education.

Speaking in a newspaper interview following her father’s lottery win, Angel says she’s waiting for her father to treat her after her brother, Alfie, was given a white Mercedes sports car worth £50,000. However the teenager’s expectations are slightly lower as she revealed she’d really like some new designer clothes to wear at the traveller event of the year, Appleby Horse Fair, and also some money to put in the bank.

The first purchase Jason Stanley made was a midnight blue state of the art Bentley which was estimated to be worth £200,000, followed by a second luxury car, a Mercedes Coupé for his 17-year-old son – not bad for a first car!

by Susan TaylorMarch 26, 2012no comment

George Clooney reveals his past life as a chauffeur

Actor George Clooney revealed his past life as a celebrity chauffeur this week during an interview on the Oscar’s red carpet. The 50-year-old star admitted that before he hit the big time in Hollywood, like many struggling actors he had a number jobs to pay the bills, one of which as a chauffeur where he was charged with driving the legendary singer Tony Bennett.

Both Clooney and Bennett attended the 84^th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night, with the nominated actor revealing his previous occupation as Tony’s chauffeur during an interview with Access Hollywood. The Descendants star said he spent about three weeks chauffeuring the iconic crooner when he was about 19-years-old.

After a few helpful reminders, the singer racked his brain and managed to recall Clooney’s stint as his chauffeur some 30 years ago, adding that the Hollywood A-lister was a very good driver and that he is very proud of what the actor has gone onto achieve. The Oceans 11 star jokingly told 85-year-old Tony, “I’ll still drive you anywhere you want to go.”

Former chauffeur to the stars, George Clooney, was accompanied to the Oscars by his girlfriend, Stacy Keibler. Clooney was the bookies favourite to scoop the Best Actor award on the night for his role in the movie, Descendants, however he lost out to Jean Dujardin for his role in The Artist.

by Tony RobertsMarch 1, 2012no comment

Elton John’s Jaguar sports car to go under the hammer

Elton John’s vintage jaguar sports car will go under the hammer next week with a guide price of between £50,000-£70,000 set on the vintage vehicle.

The red sports car was first bought by the flamboyant star back in 1987 and the singer’s mark is still imprinted on the Jag as it still bears the personalised number plate “OKE1” which stands for “OK Elton”.

The Rocket Man singer eventually sold the Jaguar E-Type back in 2001 at Christies Auction organised by himself, with the vehicle fetching £81,000. However the new owner looks set to make a loss on the vehicle when it goes to auction next week as the auctioneers have placed a guide price of between £50,000 – £70,000 on the sports car, meaning that even if it sells for the highest estimate, the current owner will be looking at making a £11,000 loss on the car.

The 1965 E-Type has a top speed of 150mph boasting a 4.2 litre 6 cylinder engine and was one of fastest cars of the 60’s. Finished in racing car red with a black leather interior and chromed wire wheels and described as being in a very good condition, the E-Type is likely to generate a great deal of interest when it goes to under the hammer on March 3^rd at Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobila Sale in Oxford.

by Susan TaylorFebruary 23, 2012no comment

Whitney’s chauffeur reveals his story of driving the tragic star

Whitney Houston’s chauffeur of 20 years, Al Bowman, has spoken out in the wake of the 48-year-old star’s death about how he witnessed firsthand the star’s path of self destruction.

The chauffeur who drove Whitney Houston for two decades revealed how he has driven many famous faces during his career as a chauffeur, including both Janet and Michael Jackson and Ozzy Osborne, but out of all of the celebrity names, Whitney’s behaviour was by far the most extreme and worrying, Mr Bowman revealed in an interview with The Mirror newspaper.

In his interview, the chauffeur described how he had wanted desperately to help the Bodyguard star, but Whitney was beyond to help and hopelessly addicted to drugs, with the chauffeur describing in the singer as “tragic.”

Al Bowman retold a story of how Whitney and her former husband Bobbi Brown set the limo he was driving on fire as they smoked crack in the back of the luxury car. In a separate incident, the celebrity chauffeur revealed he even saw the troubled star smoking crack in the back of his limo, while her daughter Bobbi Kristina, who was aged 6 or 7 years at the time, sat next to her, with Al branding the incident “heartbreaking.”

Sources close to the singer say she managed to kick her drug taking habit and was sober throughout much of 2011. However Whitney is believed to have fallen back into her old ways in the months leading up to her death. The singer was found dead in the bath tub of her hotel room at The Beverley Hilton Hotel at the age of 48.

by Susan TaylorFebruary 21, 2012no comment

Chauffeur left $1 million by his former employer

A New York chauffeur has been left a $1 million fortune by his former employer. Businessman Alan Meltzer passed away last October and chose to remember two of his most trusted employees in his will.

The former record label owner divorced from his wife of 13 years just 12 months before his death. Both his chauffeur, 54-year-old Jean Laborde and his doorman, Chamil Demiraj who was left $500,000, were said to have been very supportive of Mr Meltzer during his difficult divorce, which may account for his generosity in remembering them in his will after his death.

Both of Mr Meltzer’s former employees were said to be astonished by the generous amount left to them by their boss. Chauffeur Laborde said he was unsure what he’d spend the money on, but one thing he’d definitely buy would be a bunch of flowers which he’ll lay on his old boss’s grave every year. His doorman Chamil described the $500,000 gift as a surprise, but revealed his boss was always a generous man.

The millionaire’s ex-wife, Diana a former model, was reported as saying that she couldn’t care less if her deceased ex-husband wanted to give his money to people she branded, “bums”, in a particularly scathing statement. It’s understood his ex-wife didn’t receive a penny from Mr Meltzer’s estimated $10 million fortune, while his chauffeur and doorman received $1,500 combined.

by Andrew LloydFebruary 10, 2012no comment

Aston Martin is out and the Range Rover is in as filming begins for James Bond movie

If the recent photographs taken from the filming of the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, are anything to go by, it seems that even 007 isn’t recession proof as actor Daniel Craig was seen in a Range Rover jeep instead of the Aston Martin sports car usually associated with the English spy character.

Photos published in the press this week show a serious looking Craig, filming scenes for the upcoming movie Skyfall in London. The rugged actor is seen being chauffeured in a black Range Rover jeep, with a stuntman on the roof surrounded by metal apparatus, no doubt to facilitate some type of dramatic getaway.

It’s understood that the new Bond film had singled out a number of exotic filming locations including China and Bali for the shoot, however the movie producers were forced to cut back on the film budget which meant that the shooting locations had to be reined in. It’s now believed that the only foreign location used in filming will be Turkey, while London, Bognor Regis, Wales and Pinewood Studios will be used in the most part for Skyfall filming.

We’ll have to wait until November when the 23^rd Bond movie is released to find out why James Bond is being chauffeured in the back seat of a Range Rover, although we’re pretty certain 007 will get behind the wheel of an Aston Martin or similarly glamorous sports car at some point in the movie – it wouldn’t be a Bond movie otherwise!

by Andrew LloydJanuary 31, 2012no comment

Lindsay Lohan sued for hitting nanny with a Maserati sports car

While Lindsay Lohan may have been hoping for a trouble-free start to 2012, the actress has found herself in the middle of yet another legal drama after a nanny filed court papers this week to sue the 25-year-old after she alleged she was hit by the blonde actress and model who was driving a Maserati sports car.

Nubia Del Carmen Preza who was working as a nanny in September 2010, claims she was crossing an intersection in West Hollywood while pushing a pram when the actress struck her in her hired Maserati, causing the buggy to fly into the air.

While no injuries were reported to the child in the pram, Preza is claiming for “serious personal injuries, pain, suffering and anguish” in addition, the nanny is also suing Lindsay Lohan for past and future medical costs and loss of wages and future earnings due to her inability to carry out her usual job due to the accident.

The Black and White Car Rental company who own the Maserati Granturism which was allegedly involved in the collision, confirmed that Lindsay Lohan had hired the luxury sports car at the time the accident is reported to have taken place.

The nanny is suing both Lindsay Lohan and the sports car hire company for an undisclosed amount following legal papers filed this week, despite the fact the incident allegedly occurred 17 months ago.

As yet, there’s been no word from Lindsay Lohan or her legal team with regard to the recent lawsuit.

by Andrew LloydJanuary 27, 2012no comment

The Audi R8 Limo goes global with Forbes press article

Since the news broke of Limo Broker’s secret project and plans to create the world’s first Audi R8 Limo, the news has spread around the world, with plans for the supercar even being featured in high profile American magazine, Forbes.

While the press coverage for the new Audi R8 limo has gone into overdrive, the exclusive YouTube video which showcases the plans for the finished design of the never-seen-before supercar has also been inundated with views, with the online video racking up just shy of 37,000 hits in a week.

The finished Audi R8 Limo will become the signature car for the UK’s leading limousine hire provider, Limo Broker, who are working in conjunction with Carbonyte UK, the creators of the world’s only Ferrari limo, to create this unique stretch limo. The winner of the Miss Limo beauty pageant 2012, Gemma Roberts from the Vale of Glamorgan, has been confirmed as the glamorous face of the Audi R8 limo.

Limo Broker Managing Director, Tej Randeva, said he is,

“Overwhelmed by the response to the Audi R8 Limo, we weren’t expecting news of our project to go global in the way it has, with the likes of Forbes magazine featuring our Audi R8 limo design on their pages” 30-year-old Tej added;

“the feedback we’re getting on the design has been extremely positive, and it’s certainly spurred us at Limo Broker, and the guys at Carbonyte UK, to make sure the finished limo is extra special and a supercar that will hold its own on the world stage.”

The Audi R8 limo had an initial completion date of late summer 2012, however due to the overwhelming response from the press and the public over the new design, Limo Broker and Carbonyte UK have pushed the finish forward and are now hoping to unveil the completed limousine in 3-4 months time, just in time for the peak wedding hire and school prom season.

by Andrew LloydJanuary 19, 2012no comment

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