In a world where we might fear celebrity status being increasingly defined simply by the size of a car engine, or perhaps the quantity of motorbikes lined up on a driveway, it’s actually refreshing to find that the true motoring passions of the rich and famous come in rather more unpredictable guises.

Sure, there’s still a bit of showmanship to be had – any rightminded A-lister would rather have a photographer lurking around their set of wheels than not – yet it seems the tarmac obsessions of those truly in the know take on something much more akin to an emotional, cerebral worship of life on two or four wheels… just the way it should be.

MTA Queensland takes a look at a cross-section of stars in film and music and their motoring passions.

BRIAN JOHNSON
English musician
Age: 71

Brian Johnson’s response to our first question on the subject of celebrity motoring obsessions is to reject the notion that he is a celebrity in the first place. It’s not the best start.

That he is hopelessly obsessed with anything on four wheels is, thankfully, a point he is willing to entertain though. “Away from the stage I am always racing,” he says. “It’s mainly Europe and America, but give me anything at high speed and I am there – it’s in the blood… it always has been.

“I grew up on a road that had two cars in it – two! It was a dream to own a car, and it really didn’t matter what you had. I think that’s why the Mini Cooper is still the ultimate to me – it never represented glamour, speed, power; but it stood for everything a car should, namely freedom.”

While Johnson still frequently races Minis, and the iconic car has been the subject of his Cars That Rock TV programme, the AC/DC frontman admits he has other favourites in his collection, although they do tend to follow a certain theme for this most patriotic of lead men.

“The first car I paid good money for was the Royale RP4, which I still have to this day. I’ve won so many races with it and visited so many podiums on it. Manufactured in England in 1971, they only built 12 of them, and the aim was to go up against Lotus. They did alright, but they were never as good as Lotus.

“Now, there are only seven left and I’ve got one of them, and they are just one of the fastest little sports racers left. I love it. I still race it.

“I’ve got a few other iconic racers – the Lola T70 Mark 1 which is V8, 204bhp . . . it’s like a rocket. Then there’s the Pilbeam, another English car. Lola’s English by the way – in fact all of my cars are English, bar the Porsche 914/6, which my wife drives.

I really struggle to stray too far from home comforts, I guess!”

JAMES HETFIELD
American musician
Age: 55

Metallica guitarist James Hetfield shares Johnson’s position that yearning to be around cars was always a very physical thing. “I used to get this feeling as a kid when I would be sitting around at home and my stomach would start jumping, and I would want to build something. When I realised the calling was towards cars, it felt like a real epiphany.”

The iconic musician has shifted over 125 million records worldwide, but is as happy investing thought and energy into his four-wheeled friends as he is satisfying a fanbase that has been buying his music for well over three decades.

“When you’re down there welding, you’re in a tiny zone and it’s the same with music and the same with lyrics. I go up to my garage and I don’t know what I am going to make; I just start and it’s a very freeing feeling . . . you never know what you are going to end up with.

“I mean, cars are like people to me, they like love and they love to be touched, driven and admired. My life is based around heart and soul, and from the music to the lifestyle to the way that we treat our fans it’s all about expressing your heart and love for whatever your passion is. And obviously mine is cars . . . and cars have souls, make no mistake!

“It’s absolutely no secret that I enjoy motorsports and cars, but I also embrace the art side of them. I love how unique each car can be. I don’t like rules with music, and I especially don’t see the point of them in cars. Freedom of expression and the acceptance that we are all different and embrace different things, is essential.

“That’s how the Black Pearl came about. We actually started with that one totally from scratch – we took a 1948 Jaguar and then went down the frame and built it from there, using a drawing we had made. It took it to a whole different level of car building and we are very proud of the end result.”

KEANU REEVES
American actor
Age: 54

While Keanu Reeves’ resurgence on the big screen has seen him return this year for a third instalment in the John Wick franchise, no quantity of material trappings in his Beverly Hills mansion can rival the thrill of venturing out to ride his vintage motorcycles around Los Angeles in the sunshine.

“The first bike I ever rode was a Kawasaki Enduro and there was something absolutely mystifying about it. I always loved the thrill that sat between style and danger, and to this day I wouldn’t sit on a bike that didn’t offer me both.”

If there is one personality fault the actor is willing to have levelled at him, it is his wild spontaneity. The evidence? Well, over the years, he has found the closure of a film project as the perfect excuse to take home a bike from the shoot, leaving himself with a collection that includes Suzuki GS1100E and GSX-R750 models, a 1974 BMW 750, a Kawasaki KZ 900, an ‘84 Harley Shovelhead, and a Moto Guzzi, amongst others.

Despite a couple of wipe-outs, Keanu doesn’t carry a sense of fear with him whilst riding his motorcycle, but he admits he doesn’t go as fast as he once did. “I don’t really feel the need to test the limits as much. I also don’t use riding a motorcycle as a way of getting rid of anger or frustration the way I used to.

“When I was younger I used to get out on the road with the bike and just go as fast as I could and basically let it all out on the road.”

In recent years Reeves has taken his appreciation for what makes a great motorcycle one step further, co-founding the Arch Motorcycle Company with Gard Hollinger, who is known for his work with LA County Choprods. The pair have developed their first bike, the KRGT-1, and the model arrived on UK shores for the first time in May 2019, with a retail price of around £90,000.

ERIC BANA
Australian actor
Age: 50

Long before anybody recognised Eric Bana as Hector in Troy, the actor was getting his action thrills as a car enthusiast, developing his passion and motoring expertise as a teenager in Melbourne’s suburbs. Driving, racing, or engineering; it made no difference to Bana, who loved all aspects of motorsport, to the point where he planned a career in the trade if his acting dreams didn’t pan out. At age 14, he even wanted to leave school to become a mechanic.

“My obsession with cars definitely stemmed from the way I grew up,” he says. “Where I lived, we were near the airport, which meant there was lots of room to go driving around anytime I wanted, really. It was great!

“I could go out there driving and hone my skills, test myself in a place where I wasn’t going to cause too much damage or be a threat to anybody. I guess that has changed now – there are far more people, and the rules of the road are stricter, but back then I took advantage of that space as much as I could.”

It was around this time that his first true love story began, an enduring one that remains to this day. The 15-year-old Bana purchased his first car, a 1974 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop, for the princely sum of $1100, and the motor, against all odds, has been a constant in Bana’s life for the past 25 years.

Nicknamed ‘The Beast’, it has gone through any number of complex reconstructions in the quarter of a century since he bought it “from a drunk guy in the pub on a cold winter’s night, in a pretty shady deal”. It also went through a traumatic smash at the Targa Tasmania rally in 2007.

“The Beast and yours truly were both nearly destroyed when we rammed into that tree. My navigator and I were lucky to come out of that alive, because a lot of people have been badly hurt or killed in those kinds of crashes.”

The experience initially shook Bana up, but ultimately it failed to dampen his resolve for the excitement of the track.

“I actually learned quit a big lesson from that,” he continues. “If you’re going to be a racer, then the last thing you should do when you want to win so badly is race around in a car that you really love and care about. I often look back and wonder what I was thinking doing that, because I was so close to writing it off for good.”

EWAN McGREGOR
Scottish actor
Age: 48

Scottish-born Ewan McGregor is a self-confessed motorcycle obsessive with a thirst for epic international journeys with friend Charley Boorman. If not venturing abroad, however, you’ll usually find him revving around the streets of Los Angeles.

“I love getting out there.

I want to encourage people to do the same – get out and explore the world and experience things you wouldn’t otherwise.”

His cross-continental rides are the stuff of legend. The duo filmed two epic biking expeditions for the BBC that have become as career defining as any of McGregor’s movie roles. Long Way Round (on a R1150GS) documented the pair’s 12-country, 115-day odyssey from London to New York in 2004; while Long Way Down (on a R1200GS) captured a 19,000m trek from John O’Groats in Scotland to South Africa in 2007. Their rides through the iconic vineyards of Europe and the infinite deserts, jungle and planes of Africa – all in the name of charities including UNICEF, with whom McGregor has worked extensively – were personal triumphs.

“There is an element of reflection, as you’re sat on a bike for hours on end, but you also take that time to stop about thinking about things and just ride a bike. And during that time you encounter very different situations than you’re used to. That becomes entirely food for your soul. It is incredibly fulfilling.”

Source: Motor Trader E-Magazine (June 2019 Edition)

7 Jun 2019