George Clooney's favorite cars (and his least favorite scooter)

[size=56]George Clooney's favourite cars (and his least-loved scooter)

By Paul Henderson6 May 2020
From classic Corvettes to eccentric EVs, this is the pick of George Clooney's car (and bike) collection 
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George Clooney's big break came when he first landed the role of handsome physician Dr Doug Ross in the American TV series ER back in 1994, setting him on the road to fame and fortune. Nearly 25 years later, Clooney was lucky to avoid breaking anything when he was involved in a road accident in Sardinia, ending up in the ER of Olbia hospital. The Hollywood star of Ocean's Eleven, Out Of Sight and Solaris emerged pretty much unscathed, but psychologically a little damage was done. 

“After 40 years of riding, it put me off motorcycles for good,” Clooney admitted afterwards. "I had to quit. It was bad.”

But while that might have been the end of George's love of motorbikes or scooters, he still has a passion for cars. Unlike many celebrities, he doesn't spend wildly on four-wheeled works of art (and if he does you don't see him driving them), but he buys what he likes and he has made some interesting choices over the years and has pretty good taste (mostly). He must get that from his father…

Chevrolet Corvette V8 C1 convertible (1959)

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This Corvette actually belongs to Clooney’s dad, Nick (a journalist and TV presenter), who bought it from new and has owned it ever since, but that hasn't stopped George getting behind the wheel on a regular basis. However, that wasn't always the case. Nick, now 86, takes up the story. “George always coveted my 1959 Corvette, which I bought to court my wife,” Clooney Snr told People magazine years ago. “He always wanted to drive it and I was always reluctant to let him… It was a bone of contention throughout his adolescent years. [After he broke up with his first wife, Talia,] when things weren’t going well for him, I had the car refurbished and sent it out to California. George said it was the best Christmas he ever had.” The two-seater sports car was General Motors' answer to the influx of Jaguars, MGs and Alfa Romeos that American serviceman started driving after the end of the Second World War and was first released in 1953. The Clooney C1 features a fuel-injected 4.6-litre engine that produced 290bhp. No wonder the Corvette helped George's father seal the deal with Mrs Clooney. 

Harley-Davidson Dresser Touring Ultra Limited FLHTK (2017)

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With the bruises still healing from his crash in Sardinia, Clooney carried through on his promise to give up riding by donating his 2017 Harley-Davidson to charity. Featuring Harley's famous batwing fairing (perhaps that's why the former Batman chose it?) this Street Glide Special had a 1,745cc Milwaukee 8 engine and was built for covering long distances in comfort. Not that George got the chance. When he presented the bike to eBay to benefit the Homes For Our Troops non-profit, it had only been ridden for 25 miles. When it originally went on sale the bike cost £28,125 ($34,995), but having the name G Clooney as the previous owner (plus his signature on the tank) earned the charity £39,296 ($48,898). 

Tango T600 EV

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The Tango T600 is the result of a traffic jam in Los Angeles in 1982. As Rick Woodbury sat in his car, he realised that the key to solving the congestion issue was a car so short and thin that you could actually fit two in one lane and take up less space than a standard car. It took him over 20 years to launch Commuter Cars and turn his idea into a battery-powered two-seater concept and the stats are incredible. It is just 39-inches wide and 101-inches long, but can go from 0-60mph in four seconds and has a top speed of 150mph. It wasn't cheap… The first production models cost nearly a £100,000 ($121,000) and guess who bought number one? 

Tesla ‘Signature 100’ Roadster (2008) 

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Having acquired a taste for EVs, Clooney's next environmentally friendly transport solution was a Tesla Roadster (c'mon… you wouldn't expect him to have bought a Prius, would you?). Launched by Elon Musk in 2008, the company's all-electric sports car had a range of 200 miles and the first “Signature 100” models sold out in less than a month. Mr Clooney was a very early adopter, but wasn't overly impressed with the results… “I had a Tesla,” he told a journalist. "I was one of the first cats with a Tesla. I think I was, like, number five on the list. But I’m telling you, I’ve been on the side of the road a while in that thing. And I said to them, ‘Look, guys, why am I always stuck on the side of the fucking road? Make it work, one way or another.’" Clooney was so annoyed with it, he auctioned it off for charity having barely covered 2,000 miles in it. However, Musk did not take kindly to George's criticism (he probably wasn't overly impressed that George had referred to himself as a “cat”, either) and responded on Twitter: “In other news, George Clooney reports that his iPhone 1 had a bug back in '07.” 

Lexus LS (2012)

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Nothing screams incognito like the Lexus LS. Clooney's no-one-will-notice-me-in-this ride is the perfect choice for blending in with the traffic and dodging the paps. Over four generations, this four-door saloon has been the flagship vehicle for the brand famously described by Alan Partridge as the Japanese Mercedes. It is reliable, luxurious and not overly interesting. You enjoy it, George.  

Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (964) Speedster (1993)

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Far more interesting is Clooney's Porsche Speedster. This 1993 Carrera 2 cabriolet was designed to be a real driver's car and only 931 were made during the 1992-1994 production run, with 427 finding their way to the United States. Although the Porsche Speedster can trace its lineage back to 1954 and the first 356, the 964 was simple, eye-catching and has become something of a classic. A few years ago, there were rumours that Clooney's wife Amal was going to buy him a GT3 RS for his birthday, but unfortunately George didn't get it. Like husbands of a certain age, he probably got socks instead.

Piaggio MP3 250 scooter (2012)

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Spending time in Europe (Clooney has a home at Lake Como), back in the day George favoured the Piaggio three-wheeled scooter as his transport solution of choice. Made in Italy, it has a fully independent suspension, a liquid-cooled 250cc four-stroke engine and was something of a game-changer in that it gave the rider so much more confidence because of how stable it was. With a lean-angle of 40 degrees, it also cornered brilliantly. The other great thing about the Piaggio was that at no point was George nearly killed riding it. Unlike on the…

Yamaha X-Max 250

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While filming TV miniseries Catch 22 in Sardinia, Clooney was riding to the set on his Yamaha X-Max when Italian plumber Antonello Viglino decided to interrupt proceedings by pulling in front of the then 57-year-old star as he was travelling at 70mph. The crash was caught on camera and was certainly not pretty to watch. When asked why he had pulled into Clooney's path, Viglino did not claim it was anything to do with the actor's performance in Batman & Robin. Instead, he blamed the weather, telling police: "I didn't see anything, I had the sun on my eyes." Clooney remembers the incident a little more vividly. “I split my helmet in half," he said. "It knocked me out of my shoes. I was hit hard. I was just waiting for the switch to turn off because I broke his windshield with my head. And I thought, ‘OK, well, that’s my neck.’ If you get nine lives, I got all of them used up at once – so I can let go of motorcycle riding for a while.” Although shocked, battered and bruised, thankfully Clooney didn't suffer any serious injuries. He did, however, hang up his broken helmet for the last time.