A History of Celebrities Crashing Supercars

Image via Complex Original

Supercar: Porsche 550 Spyder
When It Happened: September 1955

Only 24 years of age, James Dean passed away in one of the most well-known celebrity crashes of all time. Dean was reportedly driving his 550 to an auto rally when he and a 1950 Ford Tutor collided head-on. The driver of the ford only had minor injuries, and the passenger in the Porsche was thrown from the car and suffered head and leg injuries, but Dean was not as lucky. The car was stolen during a countrywide tour about driver safety and has yet to resurface.

Supercar: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
When It Happened: May 2005

Known for his ridiculous antics walking up to and in the boxing ring, Hamed was involed in a not-so-entertaining accident in 2005. The former featherweight champ was driving at around 90 mph when he crashed head-on into Anthony Burgin and his wife. Burgin was said to have broken "every major bone in his body." Hamed, who had three previous incidents of speeding before the accidents, was sentenced to 15 months in jail. Two years later, Burgin was accused of attempting to cause harm to Mrs. Hamed and the family's three children, when he cut them off on the road.

Supercar: Bentley Continental GT
When It Happened: November 2005

At around 2:30 in the morning Niarchos, Paris Hilton's boyfriend at the time, got behind the wheel of Hilton's Bentley GT after a night at the club. He was not sober. With a barrage of camera flashes from intruding photographers, Niarchos angrily tried to escape the scene. When he gunned the $200,000 car, he went straight under a commercial truck in front of him. He left the scene and was later stopped by LAPD. However, the cops did not conduct a sobriety test and let them go.

Supercar: Vampire Jet-Powered Car
When It Happened: September 2006

Probably the scariest of the bunch was Richard Hammond's attempt to beat a land speed record in this jet-powered animal. Once the car got up to 280 mph, the front right tire blew out, the car started rolling (still going about 230 mph), and the roll bar gave way, leaving Hammond's head to take a lot of the force. Luckily, he survived the accident and went on continuing to make one of the best shows on television.

Supercar: Lamborghini Diablo SE30 Jota
When It Happened: October 2006

This is extremely disheartening. One of the most amazingly awesome Lamborghinis ever produced gone. Just like that. Jay Kay simply lost control of the car when he was taking a turn at too high of a speed. Considering he has hundred of thousands of dollars worth of other supercars, he probably didnt' even bat an eye.

Supercar: Ferrari Enzo
When It Happened: March 2007

We'd really love to just punch Eddie Griffin in the face, after seeing him act like a child when he crashed a Ferrari Enzo. He was practicing for a charity event that was set to promote his movie Redline, when he slammed into a barrier, essentially destroying the entire front end of the car. And what does he say? "Undercover Brother's good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can't drive." He then stood on top of the car for photos. Producer of the film, and owner of the Ferrari, said, "I'm glad Eddie came out of the crash okay, but my dream car got destroyed. I went to my trailer for about 15 minutes and I thought, 'There's people dying every day. A lot of worse things are happening in the world.'" A lot worse things ... like us doing something we can't really say to Eddie Griffin.

Supercar: Ferrari 360 Spider
When It Happened: August 2007

It's not exactly a great idea to turn off your traction control, which is exactly what footballer Ian Wright did before crashing his Ferrari. "Any Ferrari driver knows that when you turn the ASR off, you're dancing with the Devil," he said. "And if you dance with the Devil, you've got to be prepared to get your toes stood on." If having your toes stepped on means wrapping your supercar around a tree, then yes, prepare for that.

Supercar: Toyota Supra
When It Happened: August 2007

At this point, just about everybody knows the story behind Nick Hogan's infamous car crash. While not exactly a supercar, the Toyota Supra is a pretty spectacular vehicle. Hogan was driving with his best friend John Graziano and started drag racing other friends who were in a Dodge Viper. Nick lost control and mangled the car, serverly injuring Graziano. Hogan was charged with reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, use of a motor vehicle in commission of a felony, a person under the age of 21 operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.02 or higher, and illegal window tint. He was sentenced to five years of probation, 500 community service hours, and had his driver's license taken away for three years.

Supercar: 1967 Fiat BTM
When It Happened: April 2008

Seinfeld's crash is, to this day, a bit of a mystery, thanks to a report from AP saying that the car involved was a Fiat "BTM." When everybody looked to try and figure out what a BTM was, there weren't really any answers. Rumor has it that it was a hard-top version of the Dino, which is pictured above,

Supercar: Ferrari 599
When It Happened: January 2009

About four years ago, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was at the wheel, when he crashed his Ferrari into a road barrier. Although the wreckage looked pretty bad, with the front end smashed and a wheel completely ripped off, he walked away uninjured and even practiced at Manchester United's Carrington training facility later that day.

Supercar: Maserati Quattroporte
When It Happened: August 2010

After this accident, Mel told police, "I don't know how the car left the roadway." Sounds pretty weird to us, but he said he wasn't drinking, wasn't on his phone, and didn't fall asleep. He bashed the Quattroporte into the rocky wall on Malibu Canyon Road, damaging the front end, the axel, and the wheel. He wasn't charged for the accident, but he did have to pay a pretty hefty bill for repairs.

Supercar: Audi R8
When It Happened: August 2010

Another footballer was involved an expensive crash, this time Manchester City's Super Mario. He ran into a BMW on his way to the training facility, but, like Ronaldo, was unhurt and practiced later that day.

Supercar: Ferrari California
When It Happened: December 2010

In an extremely minor accident, the Prince of Darkness bumped a Mercedes-Benz from behind in his 'Rari.

Supercar: Porsche 911 GT3
When It Happened: June 2011

One of the most devastating crashes in recent pop cuture history came just two years ago when Jackass star Ryan Dunn died in a drunk driving incident. Bam Margera's best friend was apparently quite intoxicated when he hit a speed of around 130 mph and went off the road. The car burst into flames and killed the reality star.

Supercar: McLaren F1
When It Happened: August 2011

Mr. Bean, you dummy. You own the greatest supercar ever made, and you crashed it into a tree and a lamp post. You also paid the hefty price with a $1.4 million bill to return the car to perfect order.

Supercar: Ferrari 458
When It Happened: February 2013

Afrojack crashed his 458, took a smiley picture next to it, then proceeded to buy an Aventador and get his license revoked for speeding two months later. Oh, Ferrari also sent him gifts after his crash. How's that for customer service?