ROWAN ATKINSON / MR BEANS CAR COLLECTION
A millionaire with an estimated wealth of £65 million, his major hobby is fast cars. His mother owned a Morris Minor, which he drove around the family farm, as well as tractors. He has written for the British magazines Car and Evo, and also holds a UK HGV licence, gained because trucks held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor.
A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared in the straight role of racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. While in 1991, he starred in the self-penned "Driven Man", a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.[6]
Rowan has a fancy for Aston Martins, and a majority of his collection includes Aston Martins, including the DB7 used in Johnny English.
His large car collection includes:[7]
* Aston Martin V8 - Used in the film The Tall Guy, with Atkinson's registration plate COM1C. The character Dexter is pulled over by the police for speeding just as Atkinson was in real life in the very same car. Atkinson received a driving ban as a result of the incident[8]
* Aston Martin V8 Zagato - which he races, and from which he escaped unhurt after crashing it into a barrier at an Aston Martin owners’ club event in Yorkshire in 2001
* Audi A8
* Mercedes-Benz 500E - a black taxi with over 320hp.
* Bentley Mulsanne
* Honda Civic Hybrid
* Lotus Carlton - a car with 2 turbos and 377hp.
* Lancia Delta Integrale
* McLaren F1 - a purple one (which might be the one involved in the accident)[citation needed] and another one — involved in an accident with an Austin Metro, leaving the Metro virtually undamaged[9]
* MG XPower SV
* Renault 5 Turbo - he raced one for a couple of seasons
One car he will not own is a Porsche: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people — and I wish them no ill — are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one
