Inside Corrie star Nigel Havers’ stunning car collection including classy Mercedes & British classics
TV legend Nigel Havers is best known for his decade-long stint on Coronation Street – which helped him build an impressive collection of motors.
The soap star, who played Lewis Archer on the ITV programme between 2009 and 2019, has owned a varied range of cars over the years – including a very classy Mercedes and a much-loved E-Type Jaguar.
The Merc in question is a S350 CDi BlueTEC – a top-of-the-range limousine style motor with a three-litre, V6 diesel engine – that was previously owned by Nige’s mother.
It’s joined by a CLK 500, which he mentioned owning in an interview with The Times in 2006, that comes in at around £14,000 and boasts an impressive V8, 32-valve DOH engine.
In the past, Nigel has owned an eclectic range of motors, including a BMW 3-series, Porsche 911, MGB – complete in British racing green, that Nige sold in 2013 – and a couple of Jaguars.
In fact, his most prized motor was a Jaguar E-type, which he bought shortly after playing his most famous film role; Lord Andrew Lindsay in the Oscar winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
He said: “That was probably the most beautiful machine ever made.
“I don’t think anyone has ever got close to it again. I had the real thing as well, a Roadster.”
Sadly, he’s been forced to part with the British classic – citing years of driving on “dangerous” local roads littered with potholes.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he said: “The thing is enough people are shouting about this now, everybody has a road that they know is lethal.
“And what happens is you avoid potholes because you get to know where they are, and you head into oncoming traffic which can be really dangerous.
“Sometimes you’re left with going onto the pothole because there is nothing else you can do, and the whole car just shudders.”
As a result, the car will be sold by Classic Car Auctions at the Birmingham NEC on March 24, and is expected to fetch around £70,000.
Speaking in 2006, Havers revealed his love of cars started when his dad bought a Ford Anglia that he had to share with his Eton-educated brother.
Later, he took a fancy to his father’s rather more classy set of wheels.
He said: “My dad had a Bentley S1 Continental, so I used to borrow it – steal it – when I was 18.
“It was a fantastic car to pick up girls with.”
“I remember I was returning the car one night and took it through a car wash, to return it clean, near Newmarket.
“One of the rollers got stuck under the B of the Bentley and shifted it to one side – it was all wonky for about a year and dad never noticed!”
Nigel's Coronation Street story
Nigel first joined the residents of Coronation Street in 2009 as the charming escort Lewis Archer.
Throughout his run he acted as an on-again, off-again love interest to Audrey Roberts, played by Sue Nicholls.
At the climax of his first stint on the show, he left Audrey broken-hearted after stealing thousands from Peter Barlow’s betting shop and leaving the country.
Lewis would return in 2012 and rekindled his relationship with Audrey, as well as paying back the money he took.
However, it wouldn’t be long before he entered into a bitter feud with Floria Price and Gail Platt, the latter of whom he scammed out of £40,000 before vanishing once more.
A final run from 2017-19 saw him enact another con against Gail and try for a third time to make things work with Audrey, only to end up in prison.
His story would end in tragedy when he died of a heart attack while preparing to ask Audrey to marry him and was discovered with the ring in his hand, having finally cleaned up his act.
CELEBS AND THEIR CAR COLLECTIONS
It should be no surprise that the list of luxury motors owned by wealthy celebrities grows every year.
Whether it’s Gorden Ramsey in his his rare £1million Aston Martin, or Cristiano Ronaldo’s £400,000 Ferrari, stars are regularly spotted in cars most only dream of being able to sit inside.
Dwayne Johnson’s cars are beyond the imagination of a mere mortal and is fitting for a man believed to be worth $800million.
His obsession with motors has been noted, with a starring role in the Fast & Furious franchise backing up his love for luxurious supercars.
Elsewhere, Neymar added a Rolls-Royce Ghost to his impressive garage.
The ex-PSG ace showed off his new wheels on social media, captioning the photo his “New child”.