Rowan Atkinson Has Been Buying and Selling The Same Car For Years Now — Find Out Why

Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean is comedy royalty but did you know that the funnyman is also an avid car enthusiast? Audiences may only associate him to his television character’s iconic green 1976 Mini made by the British Leyland Motor Corporation, but he’s got quite an enviable collection of luxury cars in real life.

This is the unusual story behind one of them…

Selling the Same Car Twice

Mercedes 500Es have been known to fetch a price up to $63,000 in auctions

Way back in 1991, Atkinson purchased a then-brand-new Mercedes 500E a year after his popular comedy show first aired on British screens. Three years later, he decided to sell the car. Nothing unusual here, right? People usually buy and sell their cars after some time especially when they’re planning to buy a new one.

But 20 years later, the comedian decided to track down the car and buy it again from the same person he sold it to. What’s even stranger is that he’s recently put the same Mercedes 500E car back on the market again.

Gary Dunne, a manager at Classic Car Auctions is delighted with Atkinson’s decision though primarily because of the rather unusual story behind it. There’s also the fact that this particular 500E is one of the only 29 left-hand drive cars that Mercedes supplied to the United Kingdom market.

The vehicle has a max speed of 161 miles per hour and can go from 0 to 62 miles per hour in just 5.5 seconds.

His Other Sells

Atkinson starred in the sale ad for his McLaren F1 Supercar

Atkinson has long been buying and selling some of the vehicles in his collection. One of his most notable sales to date is for his McLaren F1 Supercar which he successfully sold for a jaw-dropping $10 million four years ago.

The sell becomes even more impressive considering that the actor accidentally crashed the car just a few years beforehand. According to sources, the crash was the second one to happen within the 17 years that he owned the vehicle. It proved to be the more devastating one as the repairs it led to cost the car’s insurer $1.1 million. This amount was considered to be the most expensive car insurance claim to ever be filed at the time.

Remembering the incident, Atkinson says that he never really bought the car as an investment. He chooses his cars based on their design and quality. Apparently, he only sold the supercar so it can be enjoyed by somebody else.

Atkinson’s Garage

Atkinson has a preference for rare and classic models from luxury car brands

The comedian turned action star may have sold two cars from his garage but his collection is still impressive enough to make any gearhead drool.

Keeping track of the current list of cars currently in his collection is quite difficult considering how fast Atkinson can sometimes buy and sell his vehicles. However, observant fans and media outlets have spotted him driving some 15 different cars over the past years. This list includes a Jaguar MK7, a Rolls-Royce Ghost and a couple of other Mercedes models.