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Clint Eastwood's car collection will make your day
By Paul Henderson 31 May 2020
You'd be unforgiven for thinking Clint Eastwood doesn't love cars and isn't a great driver. How else did he become The Man With No Claims?
Clinton Eastwood Jr is 90 today. In a glittering acting, directing and producing career, the original Man With No Name has long since become one-name famous, but when he was born the nurses at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco dubbed him Samson due to his size, an eye-watering 11lb 6oz.
He got his acting big break at the age of 28 when he landed a role in the TV show Rawhide, which in turn lead to a string of Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns that helped establish him as bonafide box-office star and would eventually lead to Academy Award success in Hollywood. Ironically, however, it was the money Eastwood was able to command from the Dollars trilogy that first enabled him to really indulge the love of cars that he had had from a young age. So without further ado, here are the automobiles that made Clint feel lucky…
Ford Roadster (1932)
© Ian Shipley Auto / Alamy Stock Photo
Despite growing up in an affluent area of California, young Clint did not study hard at school and preferred hanging out with friends, going to jazz clubs, and held down a succession of short-term jobs working as a lifeguard (hopefully it wasn't a Dead Pool) and a golf caddie ("I know what you're thinking… Did he play six shots or only five?"). As a result, he was never able to buy the car he always wanted, a Ford Roadster hot rod. However, later in life as a reward for all his hard work, Eastwood was able to indulge his boyhood ambition and sourced himself one for a hefty fistful of dollars.
Lincoln K-Series convertible (1937)
In the 1982 movie Honkytonk Man, Clint played a Depression-era country and western singer suffering from tuberculosis who goes on one last cross-country road trip with his nephew. The car they used in the movie was a 1937 Lincoln Model-K convertible – a magnificent V12 (6.8 litre) roadster launched in 1931 – described as an era-defining vehicle by the manufacturer. "It surges lightly, swiftly ahead with a touch of the accelerator," an advert gushed at the time. "Shifting is smoother. Springs are more flexible… modern beauty has been achieved without the sacrifice of the dignity traditional with Lincoln." Despite Clint's character dying from TB towards the end of the movie, Eastwood so enjoyed driving the Lincoln that he "coughed up" for the car after production was finished.
Austin Healey 100M (1955)
© Michael Ochs Archives
After its stunning debut at the 1952 Motor Show and their subsequent appearance in the Le Mans 24-Hours a year later, Austin Healey's new sports car acquired cult status. Donald Healey named it the 100 on account of its top speed, but that didn't deter his company from introducing a high-performance version in 1955. The 100M had a stiffer suspension, produced 110bhp and Clint loved his (Steve McQueen also owned one). This picture is from 1958, the same year Eastwood's career broke with his role as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide. We wonder what he did with his first paycheque?
Cadillac Eldorado Series 62 convertible (1955)
© Roland Magnusson / Alamy Stock Photo
In the spring of 1953, Clinton went on a blind date with a secretary called Maggie Johnson and it seems things went pretty well. They got engaged in October and were married in December. Two years later, they welcomed a Cadillac Eldorado into their lives and the Eastwoods were delighted. With its 270 horsepower engine, elegant tailfins and a price tag of $6,286, it was a beauty. Some 34 years later, and perhaps with fond memories of that car, Eastwood starred in Pink Cadillac, an action comedy about a bounty hunter and a group of neo-Nazis looking for an innocent woman. It wasn't very good. The 1959 pink Cadillac DeVille that appeared in the movie was perhaps the best thing in it.
Jaguar XK150 roadster (1960)
© Archive Photos
After the Austin Healey, Clint traded up for another classic British roadster, the Jaguar XK150. Built between 1957 and 1961, Eastwood loved it and his version (one of only 9,385 ever made) was the 3.8-litre-producing 220bhp and was the last of Jaguar's original XK line-up. Eastwood was so enamoured with the car that he gave it a role in the first film he directed, Play Misty For Me.
Morris Mini Countryman 'Cooper S' (1966)
In 1966, John Cooper applied the same motorsport magic and mischief that had made the Mini Cooper S a Group 2 rally-winning supercar (who can forget Paddy Hopkirk storming to victory in the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally?) to the Mini Traveller. This diminutive two-door estate car with its rear barn doors was a tiny cult classic and of the six Cooper S Travellers ever made, two were rumoured to have been owned by Steve McQueen and one was snapped up by Clint Eastwood. And, no, we're not making this up. "I have got a Morris Mini Countryman," Eastwood happily admitted. "It's kind of an interesting little car. It came from England and has all the Mini Cooper S racing gear, but in a mini station wagon. It's a cool car, because there aren't many like it." From Clint's lips to God's ears. Originally the Cooper S Travellers were all offered in Old English White, but customers were offered a respray in any colour of their choosing. Having decided to paint his wagon, Clint went for British Racing Green.
Ferrari 275 GTB (1966)
© Tom Wood / Alamy Stock Photo
The car made from spaghetti. Don't panic… that is not a racist insult aimed at Ferrari. In 1966, following the success of Sergio Leone's A Fistful Of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More, Clint was begged to appear in the final part of the Dollars trilogy, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. Eastwood wasn't sure. However, the Italian production company decided to test his resolve. First, he was offered a higher salary to star. No dice. They followed that up with an offer of a share of the profits from the movie. Eastwood remained silent. Finally, they made him an offer he couldn't refuse: a brand-new Ferrari 275 GTB. At least, that is how the story goes. The truth is that the Ferrari was actually bought for Eastwood as a gift by legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis as a thank-you for appearing in The Witches. Either way, Clint was delighted. Originally painted gunmetal grey, the car would eventually be taken by Eastwood to the "kustom king" George Barris for a makeover… George takes up the story: "The Ferrari was about ten years old and showing a little wear and tear because he [Clint] liked driving it. We stripped and repainted it in a rich, light metallic green. It was kind of a classic colour for the car. It was one of the cool-looking V-12 275 GTB coupes. In its day it was the cutting edge, with a Pininfarina-designed body and 300 horsepower to play with." Barris also fitted the car with an essential 1977 accessory: a CB radio. Unfortunately for Clint he didn't keep it. It is now worth upwards of seven figures and could have been his million-dollar baby.
Gran Torino Sport (1972)
© Alberto E. Rodriguez
Supposedly in the twilight of his career (he was a sprightly 78 when it was made), Eastwood starred and directed a movie with a car in the title. Gran Torino is about a curmudgeonly racist white guy who befriends his Asian neighbours in a story of gang rivalry and redemption. However, the best-supporting character is the eponymous 1972 Gran Torino that is the protagonist's pride and joy. An American muscle car with that classic Coke-bottle styling, it was called Torino after the city of Turin, which was considered the "Italian Detroit". Before filming started on Gran Torino, Eastwood's production company sourced it through a classic car dealer on Ebay and Warner Bros bought it and had it tidied it up for its role. When the film wrapped, Eastwood bought it and added it to his collection.
Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer (1974)
© ilpo musto / Alamy Stock Photo
Having acquired a taste for Ferraris (who wouldn't?), Clint next bought a factory-built Ferrari Daytona Group 4 race car that he happily allowed his friend Paul Newman to race for him. For himself, however, Eastwood bought a 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer. As the first 12-cylinder Ferrari with a mid-mounted engine, the Pininfarina design was based on the original Dino and marked a new era for the Italians. Eastwood adored it… OK, most of it. He actually didn't like the roof so had it removed in 1978 and kept it – the car and the roof – until 1985.
Pontiac Special Edition Trans-Am (1977)
© Performance Image / Alamy Stock Photo
In 1974, Eastwood appeared alongside Jeff Bridges in the road movie Thunderbolt And Lightfoot. In this comedy drama Bridges is Thunderbolt, a drifter (not high plains) who steals cars, alongside Clint's legendary thief, Lightfoot, and together they rob banks and get into high-speed adventures, etc. You get the idea. Anyway, why we are telling you that is because the white 1973 Pontiac Trans-Am 455 that appears in the film was actually Eastwood's and rumour has it that he still owns it. Less well known, however, is that Eastwood bought another Trans-Am – a Special Edition based on a car that appeared in one of the biggest movies of 1977, Smokey And The Bandit (it was only pipped at the box office by Star Wars). The Trans-Am had a monstrous 6.6-litre engine that generated 300bhp and the Special Edition came complete with a "Firebird" decal on the bonnet. Whether Eastwood bought it because he liked it or to support his pal Burt Reynolds (star of Smokey) is unknown, but feel free to make your own mind up any which way you can.
© Jack Taylor
Another Ferrari and another car that Clint owned that was associated with an actor with a very full moustache. Coincidence or just weird? Either way, following on from buying a version of Burt's Trans-Am from Smokey, Clint bought a 308 GTB (not to be confused with the 308 GTS that Tom Selleck would drive a few years later in the TV series Magnum PI). Introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1975, the 308 GTB was again designed by Pininfarina and came with a V8 engine.
GMC Typhoon (1992)
A few years ago on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show, Eastwood was asked what car he drives. Now, obviously, this article hadn't come out then, so little Jimmy didn't have all of these details to hand, so he had to rely on what Clint had to say. "Actually," the 85-year-old said, "I drive a GMC Typhoon. It's out of production now." Clint wasn't kidding. The GMC Typhoon is a high-performance SUV released in 1992 that came with a serious 4.3-litre V6 engine that could go from 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds. Only 4,697 were ever made, but that isn't the best thing about the Typhoon. No, the thing we really love about it is that the Typhoon also had a brother, a pick-up version called the Syclone that Jeremy Clarkson tested in an episode of ye olde Top Gear. If you want to see it in action – and Clarkson looking like an extra from The Enforcer – step this way…
Fiat 500e (2014)
© FREDERIC J. BROWN
Just to prove he is a thoroughly modern man, Eastwood has been known to pootle around LA in an electric Fiat 500. Unfortunately, because we don't want to accept that Dirty Harry drives a tiny eco car, we don't want to talk about it. He's Clint, he can do what he wants, but we don't have to like it.
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