The Most Expensive Car In Gordon Ramsay's Collection
Gordan Ramsay is known for his culinary kingdom, peppery demeanor, and profanity-laced tirades. As a youth, Ramsay lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, the same village William Shakespeare — another person famous for stringing words together — was born. But did you know that before he was perfecting his renowned Beef Wellington and Risotto dishes in the kitchen, Ramsay was on track to be a professional footballer? As in soccer, not American football.
At the age of 19, Ramsay was good enough to have the Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier League looking at him, but a knee injury put an end to that goal. He shifted gears and, in 1987, earned a degree in hotel management from North Oxfordshire Technical College — not a culinary degree.
Over the next few years, he developed and honed his cooking skills by training with some of the world's greatest chefs, and in 1993, became the head chef of Aubergine in London. By 1996, the restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars. In 1998, the mercurial chef opened Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and in 2001 it attained the highest award in the industry — three Michelin stars. 21 years later, it still holds that award, making it the longest-running restaurant to do so. Today, Ramsay has seven current Michelin stars (via thecookingworld.com), but another 17 by way of other restaurants he's owned or worked at during his storied career.
Ramsay is associated with 35 restaurants worldwide, and seems to be on just as many television programs. His insatiable drive for perfection has built him a net worth of some $220 million, allowing him to afford one of his other passions — finely tuned cars.
Ramsay has an affinity for the Prancing Horse
The Scottish chef likes his cars in the same way he likes his cutlery — razor-sharp and well-balanced. The majority come from the Italian car maker, Ferrari, thanks to watching "Magnum PI" as a kid. His love for Ferrari runs so deep that he even called his first flagship restaurant "an engine tuned to perfection on a daily basis, like my LaFerrari."
His collection includes a 1998 Ferrari F355 GTS, a 2000 model year 500 Maranello, a 2005 F430 GTB, a '16 F12TDF, and an SP2 Monza from 2019 (via GQ). He even has one of the five hundred 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari's made (with a $1.4 million price tag), but Ferraris aren't his only jam. He also owns a 2019 Ford GT, a $500,000 car with a top speed of 216 mph. He also owns two McLarens, the 675LT and the Senna, the latter of which cost a cool $837,000.
Additionally, his 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder is decked out with a 4.6-liter V8 pushing 608 bhp, two more electric motors that add another 279 bhp, and goes from zero to sixty in 2.2 seconds. He even has a special edition Land Rover Defender 110 SVX made for the 24th film in the James Bond franchise, "Spectre." Of the 10 built, only seven survived, and Ramsay just so happens to own one. It has an estimated value of $288,000 (via GQ).
But none of these compare to the piece de resistance, a true three Michelin star car — his 2016 LaFerrari Aperta.
The Ferrari of Ferraris
The LaFerrari ("The Ferrari") first hit the market in 2013 as a limited edition supercar meant to embody all that is the Italian car maker. It was to be the pinnacle of Ferrari's 70-year legacy. Even with a staggering price of $1.5 million, it was so well received that the company decided to make an open-top convertible version with a removable carbon-fiber roof called the Aperta. Only 210 were made between 2016 and 2018, and came with a retail sticker price of $2.2 million.
"The Ferrari" is equipped with a 6.3-liter V-12 that pushes out 800 hp, while an auxiliary electric motor adds 163 more horsepower. With a top speed of almost 220 mph, it can go from standing still to 60 mph in less than three seconds. Ramsay is quoted as saying, "F*** me, it's fast!"
You could only buy one if you were invited to do so by Ferrari, and of course, Ramsay owns one. His model has a metallic white paint job, similar to the pristine white uniform he typically wears. The Ferrari's license plate reads "F150 GR" (via CARHP) and has his signature slogan ("Done!") stamped on the steering wheel. "You hold the steering wheel and feel 70 years of pure perfection. I'm relaxed in that environment because I can connect to that level of perfection" (via GQ).
When you're one of the world's greatest chefs spending $2.2 million on a car, Ferrari can afford to put a cherry on top every now and then.