Let’s hope these Eurovision winners have ‘nul points’ on their driving licences - because they’ve driven some seriously impressive cars!
The Eurovision bandwagon rolls into Liverpool this week, with the competition spread across two semi finals and a grand final on Saturday May 13th.
As host nation, the United Kingdom has already made it through to the final.
You’ll be able to watch it live on BBC One - hosted by Graham Norton, Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer-songwriter Julia Sanina - as the UK’s Mae Muller will be hoping to impress the entire Continent with her tune ‘I Wrote a Song’.
You might be thinking there’s not much about Eurovision to get petrolheads excited - but you’d be wrong. Check out our list of the sumptuous motors enjoyed by past winners below.
Meanwhile the competition has also seen its fair share of vehicular catastrophe.
The UK’s Bucks Fizz famously won Eurovision in 1981 with their smash hit ‘Making Your Mind Up’. But in December 1984 the band was travelling in a tour bus near Newcastle when it collided with a lorry. All band members - Jay Aston, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Bobby Gee - were badly injured. Mike and Cheryl were thrown through the windscreen and were both lucky to survive.
Essex-born Sandie Shaw - who won Eurovision in 1967 with ‘Puppet on a String’ - was also left scarred in 2013 after being involved in a terrifying crash in France.
Celine Dion
Long before she crooned the Titanic movie theme tune, Canada's Dion represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest, winning the competition in 1988 with her song ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’.
Dion has enjoyed a string of expensive cars since - not least her favourite Rolls-Royce Corniche (below).
She’s also the proud owner of a Mercedes-Maybach 62S worth around £320,000.
ABBA
The cars enjoyed by the stars of ABBA will have you shouting, ‘Mamma Mia!’
ABBA famously triumphed at Eurovision in 1974 with ‘Waterloo’.
And in recent years some of the vehicles owned by the group ended up being sold at auction.
Benny Andersson’s old Maserati Merak (above) went up for sale in 2020 with an asking price of around £120,000.
Meanwhile a BMW 633 CSi once owned by Björn Ulvaeus also went under the hammer in 2018 - with auctioneers Sotheby’s saying, ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ around £35,000.
Sandie Shaw
Now-retired singer Sandie Shaw brought the house down at Eurovision in 1967, winning with ‘Puppet on a String’.
And in the late 60s, Sandie leaned heavily on a stunning Lamborghini Miura to promote her album The Sandie Shaw Supplement.
Music videos saw her driving one while photoshoots saw her lying across the Italian supercar.
Lulu
(Pic credit Classic Car Auctions)
Scottish singer Lulu is inextricably linked with the swinging British Sixties.
She won Eurovision in 1969 with ‘Boom Bang-a-Bang’.
So who better to mark the end of the classic Rover-made MINI, before manufacturing was passed to BMW?
Lulu was seen driving the last ever Mini Cooper Sport off the production line at Rover’s Longbridge plant, heralding the end of an era.
Conchita Wurst
Bearded Austrian singer Conchita Wurst shot to fame in 2014 after winning Eurovision with the rousing Bond-like song ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’.
Last year Conchita released a new song, ‘Car’, which saw her getting up close and personal with a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo.
Sadly for Conchita, she didn’t get to keep it - as the car was just borrowed for the shoot.
Sam Ryder
Bristol-born Sam Ryder won armies of fans last year after finishing runner-up for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Space Man’.
And Sam is a bit of a petrolhead.
In July last year he got the British F1 Grand Prix underway with a rendition of the National Anthem - and admitted he’s watched F1 since he was a kid.
And the video for his 2022 hit ‘Somebody’ is also crammed full of affordable classics.
He’s seen singing while behind the wheel of a stunning Ford Cortina Mk3 while you can also spot a lovely Volkswagen Corrado in the video promo, too.
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