Stars and Their Cars

Multitasker Pharrel Williams — one-half of the producing duo the Neptunes, front man for the band N.E.R.D and co-creator of the fashion lines Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream — is known for his distinct personal style at least as much as for his musical prowess, and said style extends to his rides. Not only does he have a $455,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren with a supercharged 5.5L V8 engine parked in his driveway, he also counts a $1 million, carbon-fiber, Formula 1-inspired Ferrari Enzo (top speed: 221 mph) for his daily errands about town.

Lauren Conrad is a TV star from the MTV shows "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills." While you can easily say her roles lack, well, substance, you cannot say the same for Conrad's ride. It is full of it, in a good way. She rides around Los Angeles in the incredible Audi R8 supercar. The midmounted monster — which goes zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, delivers 317 lb-ft of torque and has a top speed of 187 mph — is also favored by macho types such as English soccer ace Robbie Fowler and actor David Hasselhoff. So, while seeing a tiny, blond, SoCal reality TV star tooling around in this powerhouse is a bit disconcerting, it's also, dare we say it, totally awesome! It sure beats Paris Hilton's cringe-inducing pink Bentley.

While the Jonas Brothers' music may appeal to the tween girl set, the car Nick Jonas drives comes straight out of a ZZ Top video. As soon as he turned 16, the Disney-produced guitar player and vocalist was spotted cruising around his Toluca Lake, Calif., neighborhood in a shiny black 1968 Ford Mustang Cobra with white racing stripes. Although we doubt the young crooner spent hours rehabilitating the classic muscle car getting grease under those manicured nails, we have to give him credit for one badass ride.

View Slideshow: Mustang Mania

For at least one nod to practicality on this list, we turn to "Walk the Line" actress Reese Witherspoon and her vehicle of choice. Rather than the ever-popular Toyota Prius favored by Hollywood's eco warriors, or the MINI Cooper (a hit with "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart), this petite thespian and mother drives to and fro in a massive GMC Yukon Hybrid. And while the SUV's gas mileage is not exactly at Prius levels (it gets about 21 mpg on the highway), it sports a monster V8 engine and can tow up to 6,000 pounds. What a famous Hollywood actress commanding $15 million to $20 million per picture needs with that kind of power is unclear, but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

While Fergie is probably the most recognized member of the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am is definitely the most politically minded, as proven by his bizarre "hologram" in a ratings stunt with CNN's Anderson Cooper after the 2008 presidential election. Nonetheless, the musician puts his environmental politics into action with his choice of car, the Tesla Roadster. Based on the super-sporty Lotus Elise, this pure electric racer does zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. It develops 248 horsepower and gets 244 miles per charge. It's so sporty, in fact, that another famous musician and Tesla owner — Flea, bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers — has said that it makes his Porsche feel "like a golf cart."

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Normally, music superstar Beyoncé Knowles is spotted with the type of entourage that suggests she doesn't spend too much time actually driving herself anywhere. And that's a shame, considering that on her 25th birthday, her then-boyfriend (now husband), rapper and music mogul Jay-Z, surprised her with a 1959 Rolls-Royce convertible. No definite details as to model — though as a convertible it's most likely a Silver Cloud. Regardless, it's hard to argue with a classic luxury automobile reported to be worth a cool million bucks as a "congratulations for being one year older" gift.

Who knew being obnoxious on overhyped network TV contests was so lucrative? One look at the Bugatti Veyron that "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell ponied up $1.7 million for tells us everything we need to know about the financial prospects of pomposity. With a top speed of more than 253 mph, the Veyron holds the title of the fastest (and most expensive) street-legal car on the road today. Consequently, Cowell can sit in judgment of all other motorists around him, anywhere in the world. Even more proof that nice guys finish last: Cowell purchased the Bugatti within a few days of picking up a $434,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.

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Noted black-on-black (aka "murdered out") luxury vehicle enthusiast and sometime-international soccer star David Beckham has been spotted driving around Los Angeles in a sleek, blacked-out Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. The ride's color scheme matches his $400,000 customized Porsche 911 Cabriolet Turbo and jacked-up Jeep Wrangler, and rounds out the luxury lineup in his garage, which also includes a Ferrari F430 and a V10 Lamborghini Gallardo. His wife, Victoria — aka Posh, former Spice Girl turned Marc Jacobs muse and international fashion plate — plays the ivory to Becks' ebony in a white Porsche 911 Cabriolet.

Jay Leno isn't your typical celebrity car owner. He is actually a true automotive enthusiast extraordinaire. His collection of rare and odd vintage rides is legendary. But, as a true gearhead, Leno is just as impressed by speed and power as by quirk and collectability. Take his EcoJet prototype, for instance. Leno helped design the one-of-a-kind supercar (with help from his own Big Dog garage team and the design gurus at General Motors). It is essentially a modified Corvette Z06 that runs on biodiesel and is powered by a 650-horsepower LT-101 jet engine, similar to the ones found in Coast Guard helicopters. The team is still working out the kinks to get it on the road, but in the meantime you can see (and hear) Leno and team firing it up at his official car Web site.

American fashion icon Ralph Lauren's car collection has everything from the ultraclassic (Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe) to the iconic (Porsche 550 Spyder) to the bizarre (Jaguar XKD) — and those are just some of his cars from 1955! It's hard to choose favorites among such a select stable, but if we could abscond with one of his incredible rides, chances are it would be the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. Only 39 of these unmistakable Italian beauties were produced between 1962 and 1964, and they are widely considered to be one of Enzo Ferrari's greatest achievements — if not the greatest. And they're priced accordingly: 250 GTOs (top speed: 170 mph) have sold at auctions over the years for anywhere from $2 million to more than $15 million.

Josh Condon has covered everything from nanotechnology to champagne and caviar for the likes of The New York Times, Popular Science, Men's Journal, Cargo and RL Magazine. He's recently relocated from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Los Angeles and is spending way, way more time in his car as a result.

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