‘Mr. Bean’ Rowan Atkinson’s Car Collection Will Make You Do a Double-Take
Rowan Atkinson is the comedy genius behind the bumbling Mr. Bean. One of the U.K.’s most beloved comedic actors has been in showbiz since 1979. However, there is more to Atkinson than his comedic timing. He has a rather impressive collection of cars. Not surprisingly, one of his most famous roles is when he pokes fun at another car lover, James Bond. Let’s take a look at his career and his impressive classic car collection.
Atkinson’s career
Atkinson got his start in radio. In 1979, he was on a radio show called The Atkinson People. The show’s title was misleading because it was simply Atkinson interviewing himself and using his impressive impersonation skills to simulate a two-way conversation. His first television appearance was on a show called Canned Laughter. He also hosted a news parody titled Not the Nine O’Clock News.
In 1983, he appeared in one of his most iconic projects, a TV show called Black Adder. After a few seasons of the show, Rowan Atkinson soon stepped into his most famous role, Mr. Bean. There was also an animated series with Mr. Bean that aired in 2019. In 2003, he began the Johnny English film series. The series showed Atkinson parodying the character of James Bond. Following the first film’s success, there was Johnny English Strikes Back and Johnny English Strikes Again. Thanks to his hard work over the years, Celebrity Net Worth reports that he is worth $150 million.
The impressive collection of cars
It’s hard to know where to begin with such an impressive collection. Atkinson owns several, but let’s start with the 1997 McLaren F1. The car’s cost when they first released in 1992 was £535,000. However, when Atkinson sold the vehicle five years ago for an eye-popping £8 million, it was quite an investment considering he had wrecked the car twice. Subsequently, he received Britain’s largest ever insurance payout for car repairs, a whopping £910,000.
Next on the list is a 2014 Bentley Mulsanne Birkin Edition. The car was inspired by Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, whose idea was to supercharge Walter Owen’s cars, resulting in the famous Bentley Blower. This car was featured in the 1995 film Full Throttle, in which Atkinson played Birkin.
Atkinson also owns a 2011 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead, 1977 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and a 2002 Honda NSX. You would think that Atkinson would be a sucker for any fast cars given his wide variety of vehicles, but you would be wrong. There is one brand that he would never be caught owning.
The one brand Atkinson will never own
Atkinson will never own a Porsche. According to GQ, Atkinson says, “I have no problem with Porsches. They’re wonderful cars. I don’t go around saying Porsches are a pile of dung. 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.”
According to Atkinson, it isn’t the car he takes issue with, it’s the kind of people that align themselves with the brand. He never wants to be mistaken for “those” kinds of people. Still, it’s easy to see that his taste in cars is flawless.
Atkinson has made a handsome living as a comedy legend. From Black Adder to Mr. Bean to Johnny English, it’s easy to imagine that his plan all along was to get incredibly rich and then buy all the cars he had only been able to dream of as a child. We all need goals, and for Atkinson, I would say that if that was indeed the plan, his ship arrived.
