You may know Patrick Dempsey from his role as Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy, which helped launch him into the spotlight with other celebrities. But in his personal life, he enjoys all things automobiles. He has an extensive vintage car collection and a passion for racing. Read on to find out where his love for cars began, what he’s doing now in the automotive space, his large vintage and fast car collection, as well as how he was able to afford all of his vehicles.

Patrick Dempsey’s automotive passion

Dempsey’s passion for cars started at a young age. In an article from Architectural Digest, he stated that he grew up next to Route 4 in Maine, which had many vehicles driving it daily. In addition, his father would race in Maryland and brought back a Matchbox car for him every Friday. As a teenager, he bought a 1963 Porsche 356 after seeing a poster and has kept the car ever since. He used his first acting paycheck to buy the car.

Later on, he began collecting cars, especially vintage ones. Despite his passion for vintage cars, though, he doesn’t keep many of them at a time. He has said in the past that he doesn’t prefer just having cars sit in a garage, and as of late, he doesn’t have room to keep dozens and dozens of vehicles. He likes driving the cars rather than having them remain on display.

Along with his car collection, he also has a passion for racing. He owns a racing organization, Dempsey Racing, and has driven in some of the races at times when he wasn’t acting. It was founded in 2006, and according to Dempsey Racing‘s website, they have “the intent of nurturing new talent alongside esteemed racing legends to the top worldwide echelons of the sport.”

Rundown of Dempsey’s fast and vintage cars

As for Dempsey’s car collection, he has a vast array, including a vintage Jaguar XK120, Panoz Esperante GT, Porsche 911 SC, the 1963 Porsche, as mentioned earlier 356, Ferrari Daytona, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing. These are either vintage cars or well-known for packing a lot of power, making for some fast vehicles.

Interestingly, the Jaguar XK120 is currently worth over $100,000 since it is a decently rare vehicle. According to Motorious, it’s one of the main reasons why Jaguar is a popular brand today. The model was first released in 1946 and is still beloved to this day as a vintage car. His Panoz Esperante is even rarer. It was built by hand.

While Dempsey sometimes buys new cars and sells old ones, he’s not planning on selling his 1963 Porsche 356, which he says he will keep in the family. He also has a Ferrari Daytona, which is his least favorite car. He does still like it, but he has noted that the car is rather difficult to handle. As for his final car, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing, it’s one he chooses to drive daily rather than just occasionally. 

Patrick Dempsey’s net worth

How was Dempsey able to afford all these expensive cars? According to Celebrity Net Worth, he has a relatively high net worth of $80 million. During his time on Grey’s Anatomy, he earned $350,000 per episode, which leveled out to around $8 million per season. 

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