Steve McQueen’s Mustang from the film “Bullitt” shows up with a 16,000 per cent increase over a standard Mustang. Photo: courtesy Hagerty.
Hagerty’s 2023 Power List, which tracks celebrity car influence by analyzing the increase (and sometimes decrease) in value by comparing stars’ cars with their standard equivalent at the time, was created to explore how celebrity ownership can affect the value of a vehicle.
Using Hagerty’s vast amounts of market data, comparisons are made to the sold prices of selected vehicles with the values of a standard car at that time.
When faced with a unique car such as the Batmobile, Hagerty values the standard equivalent to the vehicle on which the car is based. The result is a list of famous people and films and the difference, or ‘delta’, between the value of their vehicles and a normal one.
For 2023, the Hagerty Power List has grown, analyzing nearly 400 sales of celebrity cars and bikes worldwide, each with their own story. The list comprises seven categories: Racing Drivers, Movies and TV, Musicians, Royalty, Celebrities, and Art Cars and Athletes.
Category highlights include:
Art Cars highlights – read the full category here
Given BMW’s long-standing links with the art car scene, it is unsurprising that two models feature in Hagerty’s top five—the Jeff Koons 8 X and the M1 Pro Car with a Frank Stella Polar Coordinates design. The highest value increase in this category went to the Astro Cumulo Uber Express 1960 Cadillac by Kenny Scharf.
The elephant in the room is that the most famous art cars were not sold publicly. According to Hagerty, the most valuable is probably the 1979 BMW M1 racer painted by Andy Warhol. If it ever sold, the top spot on the entire Power List may have to change.
Racing Drivers highlights – read the full category here
Hagerty does not include pure racing cars in the Power List calculations since it is rare to find a ‘standard’ equivalent to compare against, and comparison with a road-going version is often meaningless. Hagerty also ignores sealed-bid auctions, which means Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, sold last year for a reported $5.5M, is not included.
The 2023 winner is a 1976 Ford Bronco, bought new by legendary Canadian F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve and untouched since his death. It sold for $147,155, a massive 210 per cent increase over the $46,800 that Hagerty would value a regular example in the same condition. That sale took the top spot away from Carroll Shelby, who moved into second place.
Movies and TV highlights – read the full category here
Pixar worked together with Porsche to create a road-going version of Sally Carrera from the 2006 Cars movie, based on the current Carrera GTS. The resulting car sold for $3.6M at a charity auction. That’s an increase of 2,500 per cent over the value of a standard new GTS, placing the Cars star third in the 2023 list.
There was no budging the two heavyweights at the top of this particular list, though: the Bullitt Mustang, with watertight provenance, fantastic lost-and-then-found story, and McQueen connection, is likely to be unassailable with its nearly 16,000 per cent increase over a standard Mustang. The Risky Business Porsche 928 hero car is solidly in second place.
Musicians’ highlights – read the full category here
A 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow owned by Freddie Mercury sold for $325,667 in 2022 against a standard Hagerty value of just $9,600, and it’s no surprise that Mercury’s car now dominates the Musicians category in the 2023 Hagerty Power List.
However, that wasn’t the only new entry this year, with six additions to the top 10. John Lennon’s 1956 Austin Princess, Johnny Hallyday’s modified 1979 Porsche 911SC, George Harrison’s Porsche 928, and Dean Martin’s Rolls-Royce are all listed amongst the newcomers. One notable figure absent from the top 10 in 2023 is Elton John, who slipped down to 11th despite having the most cars tracked by Hagerty’s Power List analysts.
Royalty highlights – read the full category here
During a year that was undoubtedly the most important for the Royal Family in living memory, including the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the most fascinating element of the Hagerty Royal Power List for 2023 is just how little change there was.
A 2012 Bentley Mulsanne, reportedly used exclusively by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, went on sale for slightly under $251,948, 150 per cent of its Hagerty value. A 1993 Rover Sterling 2.7, with the owner’s name on the order sheet as ‘Buckingham Palace,’ was auctioned at $7,936, a 78 per cent mark-up on the non-royal variety, and a 2010 Land Rover Defender 110 County, built for the Duke of Edinburgh, sold for $147,820, a massive 236 per cent mark-up over the standard value.
But the most notable royal car sale of the year re-established the automotive dominance of Diana, Princess of Wales, who leads the Royal Power List for the second year in succession. Her 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo sold for an astonishing $847,700, setting a record for the Power List and a marque record for a road-going Ford Escort.
Screen Stars highlights – read the full category here
Burt Reynolds is straight in at number two thanks to the Bandit Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, given to Reynolds by the production company to thank him for the success of the 1977 hit movie Smokey and the Bandit. Last year, the Pontiac raised $495,000, a massive 771 per cent over the model’s standard Hagerty Price Guide value.
Simon Cowell sold his 1970 Triumph Spitfire for nearly six times its non-celebrity equivalent and his 1965 MGB for $68,200, roughly twice its current Hagerty Price Guide value. Jay Leno was also new to this list, with four of his previously owned cars showing a combined 706 per cent uplift from the norm.
Bruce Willis and Sean Connery also entered the top 10 this year, the latter thanks to his own Aston Martin DB5, which sold for an impressive $2.425M, 155 per cent over the maximum Hagerty Price Guide value for the model.
Paul Newman remained at the top of Hagerty’s list for a second year, thanks to his 1988 Volvo 740 estate, which sold for $84,777 including premium, a considerable increase over its current Hagerty value of just $4,923.
Sporting Icons highlights – read the full category here
David Beckham’s Aston Martin V8 Volante caused a stir at $560,584 and Michael Jordan’s Mercedes-Benz S600 Lorinser described as the ‘Holy Grail of Michael Jordan memorabilia’ was valued at $135,000 back in 2020, when a non-celebrity car was worth around half that.
Muhammad Ali’s 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow convertible sold for $152,500, and his 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider for $23,100, a combination of which put him in a strong third place.
Second was Tiger Woods, with a TGR EXP customized golf buggy that sold for $16,500, double its standard price.
Out in front, however, is Diego Maradona, who sold his 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 ‘Turbo Look’ cabriolet back in 2021 for $575,500, more than four times Hagerty’s standard value. Add in the sale of his 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC, which bid to $162,127, and Maradona gains an unassailable lead.
Power List creator and Hagerty UK Price Guide editor John Mayhead said, “Hagerty monitors a huge amount of enthusiast car market data every week, and often we see record prices achieved throughout the year. Of course, the rarity and condition of the car counts for a lot, but The Power List shows just how much celebrity ownership can add to the value of a car and can push the values way beyond what a standard car might achieve.”