Jeremy Clarkson looked on with envious eyes as fellow Top Gear star Richard Hammond bought his dream car – but that’s all changed
As a long-time presenter on the BBC’s flagship motoring programme Top Gear, it’s no great surprise that Richard Hammond owns one or two quite covetable cars.
Among the more desirable motors in his collection are a couple of Jaguar E-Types: a silver-blue 1969 model that has been valued at over £72,000, and a very rare 1962 example that could fetch over £220,000 on the current market.
In fact Richard’s complete car collection – which also includes everything from a Ferrari 550 Maranello too 1931 Lagonda M45 – has an estimated value of $2million (£1.5m), according to VIP Fortunes.
But Richard’s impressive stable of cars that has drawn some slightly mean-spirited words from Richard’s Top Gear and Grand Tour co-host Jeremy Clarkson.
Jeremy, who has seen a sizeable chunk of his own TV earnings disappear into his drama-filled Diddly Squat Farm venture, has confessed that he found himself “smiling” after he learned that Richard’s E-Type had plummeted in value.
Writing in his Sunday Times column, Jeremy admits: “When Richard Hammond bought a Series 1 E-type Jaguar back in the days when we were doing Top Gear, I must confess I felt quite jealous.”
Jeremy’s feelings of envy only intensified, he added, when the classic car’s value appreciated dramatically, doubling and even tripling in estimated selling price.
Richard boosted the value of his Jaguar by restoring it to almost factory condition with the aid of Neil Greenhouse, who works with him at his workshop, The Smallest Cog.
“My money was in the bank earning sod all,” Jeremy complained. “He was driving about in his money and it was going up in value at about 100% a year. And there’s no capital gains tax on a classic car, which filled me with even more despair.”
But recent changes in the classic market have seen the potential sale price of Richard’s Jag tumble almost to the price he paid when he acquired it in November 2023.
Richard didn’t sell the car when the market was at its most bouffant, Jeremy gloats. “Happily he hung on to the car, assuming that the money tree would continue to grow, and then, blam, the market for E-types stalled, so it’s now worth roughly what he paid for it,” he added.
“I’m not punching the air as I write this, I promise but I am smiling.”
Jeremy shouldn’t envy his friend too much. He has easily enough cash to buy an E-Type, or even a few E-Types, for himself if he wanted.
Despite the much-publicised tribulations Jeremy has been through with his pub and his farm venture , his appearances on his Amazon Prime reality show, Clarkson’s Farm, and a substantial payout from The Grand Tour have helped to bolster his finances.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, it is reported that the 65-year-old TV personality has an estimated wealth of around £59million.
