What cars has Jeremy Clarkson owned, and what does he drive today?
Clarkson's personal garage, since 1993
They say that if you want to know what cars a motoring writer really rates, you should look at what they have in their garage. So here’s what Clarkson has been driving for pleasure during his time at The Sunday Times.
He paid full price for most — only a few were on long-term loan from manufacturers in the early years.
Before you comment, the images selected are the closest publishable matches we could find in various archives and for illustration purposes only (they’re not of Clarkson’s actual cars).
1993 Ford Escort Cosworth
“Late at night, when all I wanted to do was to get home, it would be sitting there, angry and spoiling for a fight.”
1994 Jaguar XJ6
“If you want a relaxing and stylish ride, nothing even gets close to the Jaguar.”
1995 Jaguar XJR 4.0
“The nightmare on Elm Strasse, the supercharged fist in an iron glove.”
1996 Ferrari F355
“At full chat, a 355 sounds like God shouting. In terms of grip, handling and poise, the 355 was Torvill and Dean.”
1998 Jaguar XJR V8
“It comes with enough torque to stop a pacemaker at 500 paces. You can expect it to reach 60mph before you’ve set off”
1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon
“It’s built to arm-wrestle the Outback. Why is it the most unreliable piece of junk I’ve had the misfortune to own?”
2001 Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon (again)
“The Land Cruiser blitzes every other car in its class. It was able to swallow me, my wife, her embryo, two kids, the dog and a seesaw.”
2001 Ford Focus
“What we’ve got is one of those 11-year-old wonder kids that have just graduated from Cambridge with a degree in quantum physics.”
2002 Mercedes SL 55 AMG
“What we have here is a 200mph automatic coupé. A wind-in-the-hair paddle shift convertible. A full-on, supercharged Tara Palmer Nascar that when you’re not in the mood becomes as quiet and as unobtrusive as Nell McAndrew.”
This car received Clarkson’s first five star review. Read it at thetimes.co.uk
2003 Volvo XC90
“It isn’t that inspiring to drive. But who cares? I didn’t buy it to tickle my adrenal gland in a morning. I bought it because it was damn good at moving kids.”
As mentioned in Clarkson’s 2004 Mitsubishi Grandis Elegance review at thetimes.co.uk
2005 Ford GT
“It knows it’s a great, great car that was ruined by a useless ape who fitted a crummy aftermarket alarm system.”
2005 Mercedes SLK 55 AMG
“Being essentially mean I also liked the fact that the SLK 55 is roughly half the price of an SL 55 and no slower.”
2005 Volvo XC90 (again)
“The first car to have been designed by someone who had children, not an engineer who’d read about them in a book.”
As mentioned in Clarkson’s 2006 review of the Mercedes R Class at thetimes.co.uk
2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
“I took the Gallardo backstage at a Who gig and it looked right, sitting there among the rock stars and the roadies.”
Read Clarkson’s review of the Gallardo Spyder at thetimes.co.uk
2007 (Another) Volvo XC90
“It’s a dreadful car to drive, really, but it’s so clever and so well thought out.”
As mentioned in Clarkson’s 2007 review of the Skoda Roomster at thetimes.co.uk
2008 Mercedes CLK 63 Black Series
“It is not a joke. Like everything to come out of the Fatherland since it was formed in 1871, it is utterly and deadly serious.”
Currently owned 1971 Mercedes 600 Grosser
“The Grosser is fitted with so many ornaments it could almost be twinned with Elton John’s head.”
Read about it in Clarkson’s 2008 review of the Mazda MX-5 at thetimes.co.uk
Currently owned 2008 Range Rover
“It’s on the farming show and still my everyday car.”
Read Clarkson’s 2015 review of the Range Rover TDV8 Vogue SE at thetimes.co.uk
Currently owned Classic Mini
“It’s a very old Mini, which my daughter kindly bought me for a Christmas present.”
Currently owned 2022 Bentley Flying Spur
“I bought this ‘to see me out’, as my grandfather always used to say when he bought Bentleys.”
See what Clarkson said about the Flying Spur in 2020 at thetimes.co.uk
