Sammy Hagar and His Rockin’ Car Collection
Sammy Hagar’s diverse car collection and history marks him as a contender for rock n’ rolls ultimate car enthusiast.
Sammy Hagar has been making music for over 50 years, and only 11 of those was his stint with the legendary 80’s rock band Van Halen. Even becoming the replacement for David Lee Roth in Van Halen came about through cars. Eddie Van Halen was a fan of Hagar’s early band Montrose, but it was Van Halen’s mechanic suggesting Hagar that sparked the audition.
Hagar’s music career can truly be defined as epic but it was the love of cars that came first. Before he played music he would make the trip across town to check out the Mustangs at the Ford dealer and get a look under the hood. His first car was a $200 1951 Chevy Deluxe beater, and his first new car a Volkswagen Beetle. Since then, as his career and bank has grown, so has the quality and size of his collection of cars. Now, aged 70, he’s blending music and cars together by hosting the High Tide Beach Party and Car Show.
Hagar’s most famous car is his 1982 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer from the I Can’t Drive 55 music video. The legend is that Hagar started jotting notes for the lyrics while a cop was giving him a ticket for 62 mph in the federal 55 limit at the time. Hagar was convinced the car he was driving wasn’t capable of going that fast and telling the cop, “I don’t care, you could write me up for 125, post my face, I can’t drive 55.”
The 1982 Ferrari 512BB featured in the video can, of course, go faster than 55. The video opens with Hagar blasting it around the track showing off his pedal skills, and the opening line is a a flat out reference to trail-braking. Unsuprisingly, Hagar swears he will never sell 512BB. Not only has he made the best return on investment on a speeding ticket in history, but the 512BB originally sold a little short of $40,000 and is now worth about a staggering $400,000.
Hagar describes his Jaguar XKE as the biggest pile of junk he’s owned in his life but, as many older Jaguar owners will nod their head at hearing, he absolutely loves it. He is completely enamored by the XKE’s looks, and bought it after driving by one at a dealer while he was with Van Halen. In fact, he bought it immediately and made them late for their studio booking.
The thing that strikes us about the XKE story is that driving to a recording studio in a Ferrari with Eddie Van Halen and impulse buying a Jaguar, well, it must be nice, right? It would be easy to roll your eyes if Hagar wasn’t so enthusiastic and passionate about cars. Sure, a seriously heeled musician can go out and buy themselves some expensive wheels to fill the garage, but you know someone’s a full on enthusiast when they describe a car they’ve kept for decades as a pile of junk that they love. He’s also not a single brand enthusiast, although he admits his favorite is Ferrari. Cars he owns, that aren’t Ferrari’s, include a 1967 Gateway GCM–R Fastback Mustang, 2005 Aston Martin Vanquish Lagonda, Chevrolet El Camino SS and a Ford Shelby GT. He also has a 2005 Ford GT, on of the first made.
Hagar’s back catalogue is just as impressive. One of our favorites in his list is a 2003 BMW Alpina, chassis number 444, that he called one of the greatest cars he’s owned. He daily drove that as well as a more discreet 2007 Mustang convertible and Chevy Suburban stored at one house and a Ford Explorer at another along with his wife’s Mercedes GL550. She also drove a Mercedes 550CLS, but Hagar, surprisingly given his apparent brand blindness, says, “Those are really nice cars, but I’m not a Mercedes guy.”
His Ferrari’s are obviously loved, but he drives them as well. According to Hagar, the seats of his 512 Berlinetta are worn out from him and friends climbing in and out, and the rubber on the pedals has also worn down. On his owned or currently owned Ferrari list is also a 1984 Ferrari 400i, a 1997 456 GT, and a 599 GTB Fiorano. The latest jewel in his collection is custom 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari he ordered in a shade of creme. According to Hagar it took “hours and days” to decide on everything down to the color of the piping on the seats. He also describes it as the greatest piece of machinery he’s been in, and we adore the fact he gets out on the road and drives it regularly.
Jay Leno told Hagar “You’re like the ultimate car guy. Especially music and cars,” when he saw his collection. But it’s definitely not just the breadth and depth of his enthusiasm for owning cars that puts him in the running for that position. His enthusiasm is infectious, and Hagar drives his cars instead of just showing off about owning them or hiding them away. The upcoming High Tide Beach Party and Car Show at California’s Huntington State Beach is another example of that.
