Steven Tyler has a car collection that will leave you… cryin' (2024)

If ever you wanted an illustration of the unfairness of life, take a look at Steven Tyler. This week sees his 73rd birthday. The guy who has spent a large amount of his life off his extravagantly coiffured bonce, having shelled out an estimated $2 million on cocaine alone, and he looks about 40. As lead singer of Aerosmith, the man nicknamed the Demon Of Screamin’ has been admitted to both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. As if that weren’t reason enough to envy him, he’s also able to indulge his passion for all things vehicular in the most indulgent fashion. Like Tyler himself, the list of cars and bikes that have meant a lot to him is eccentric and multifaceted. But, trust us, there is only one place to start.

Hennessey Venom GT Spyder (2012)

When Tyler shelled out a cool $1.1m for this car in May 2012, it was the fastest street-legal car in history, capable of a staggering 270mph. Just the thing for the clogged freeways of LA. Tyler’s model was the first ever convertible version of the Venom and involved structural changes to incorporate a removable roof. This pushed the weight up to 1,244kg, so in order to maintain the car’s 1HP-per-kg ratio, the BHP had to be increased to 1,244 as well. Appropriately enough, after buying a car that probably didn’t do terribly many miles to the gallon, Tyler promptly went off on Aerosmith’s next adventure, the Global Warming Tour.

Harley-Davidson Fat Boy (1990)

Like so many bike enthusiasts, Tyler has a special affection for Harleys. He teamed up with a Harley dealer in 2006 to sell the Steven Tyler Signature Series of custom-designed bikes and Aerosmith headlined Harley-Davidson’s 110th anniversary celebrations in Milwaukee in 2013. But the relationship may stem from a private concert 23 years earlier, when the band performed at the behest of Harley’s senior VP (and the founder’s grandson) Willie G Davidson. He was so impressed by the performance, he gave each of the band one of the company’s brand new Fat Boys. The bike, immortalised a year later in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, was a 1,340cc colossus, a V-twin softail cruiser with solid-cast disc wheels.

Lotus Super Seven (1961)

The Lotus Seven, forerunner to the Caterham Seven, is one of the most copied and imitated cars in automotive history. Little surprise, as it is simple, lightweight, handles beautifully and accelerates really fast. The original Seven was built from 1957, but the Super Seven, with its bigger engine, was made from 1961 to 1972. The car holds a special place in Tyler’s heart – he has said he likes to put AC/DC’s Back In Black on at full volume and go for a drive with his son next to him. Presumably he can’t play Aerosmith because even when you’re Steven Tyler your kids think everything you do in your work is lame.

Ford 41 Pickup (1941)

These days, Tyler spends most of his time in his Maui beachside home (wouldn’t you?). Here, he tends to eschew the more expensive and extravagant cars in favour of something a little more practical. But that doesn’t mean they’re not also cool. As well as a convertible Jeep and a dune buggy fitted with $4,000-worth of stereo and speakers, he has a drop-dead gorgeous 1941 Ford Pickup. Emblazoned with a logo for Trow-Rico Cabins, the truck appears in the music video for “Love Is Your Name”, one of Tyler’s solo country music tracks. I’ll say that again: one of his country music tracks. Yep, seriously.

Custom Dirico (2013)

For a man who is plagued by fans, paparazzi and autograph hunters everywhere he goes, Tyler is on record as saying that the opportunity to hit the open road on a bike represents nothing short of “total freedom” to him. Although it’s fair to say that may not have been his first sentiment waking up after a bike crash in the autumn of 1980, which saw him spend two months in hospital. But his little two-wheel mishap didn’t quench his enthusiasm for biking, so much so that in 2007 he launched a new company, Dirico Motorcycles, with his brother-in-law, specialising in customising Harleys. One of his favourites is an orange Dirico with beach handlebars – another of his Maui motors. “I ride all over the island with it. With its nice big Screamin’ Eagle 110, it’s so fast. It rides great, handles great and the engine is really good.”

Vauxhall Astra (2013)

OK, this one might stick out a little from the rest. It’s not particularly (or remotely) cool and Steven Tyler doesn’t actually own one. But this is a list of cars that have meant a lot to Tyler – and this one meant so much to our hero that he crossed the Atlantic just to drive it for an afternoon. In 2013, Top Gear invited Tyler to be its Star In A Reasonably Priced Car. In spite of not having anything to promote at the time, Tyler accepted, just for the thrill of it. He duly flew into Britain and after taking in the delights of Stonehenge with David Icke, as you do, he travelled to the show’s Dunsfold track. Of his lack of track racing experience, he quipped, “Amateurs built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic.” At that time, the fastest ever lap in the Vauxhall Astra had been recorded by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, so Tyler had some shoes to fill. This he singularly failed to do, totalling one car by going from fourth gear to first while travelling very fast, before recording the second-slowest time ever for his lap in the replacement car. The crew nicknamed him the Demon Of Screamin’… Tyres. Almost certainly ironically.

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