5 Cars Owned By George Foreman That Prove He Has Great Taste
At the height of his career, former two-time heavyweight champion George Foreman was one of the most feared pugilists in all of boxing. He retired the first time after finding religion, returned to the ring, and became the oldest champ in history at 45. Even after his second retirement in 1997, many sources still rank him as one of the most powerful to ever lace up the gloves.
In 1994, while still duking it out in the ring with much younger opponents, he slapped his name on a kitchen appliance. He soon became the king of late-night infomercials with the wildly popular lean, mean fat, fighting grilling machine, cementing himself in history as a man with "great taste." According to the Smithsonian Institute, the George Foreman Grill sold over 100 million units. It became such a culturally significant item that one even sits inside the National Museum of American History. Despite not inventing the grill, Foreman earned $200 million through his memorable endorsement.
Over the years, the charismatic boxer turned pitchman began amassing an impressive car collection that includes Lamborghinis, Mercedes, Ferraris, and lots of Chevys. In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Foreman put his number of cars over 50, but he's not entirely sure because he has to hide them in different places from his wife.
1977 VW Beetle Convertible
This list could not be complete without including the one car Foreman cherishes the most — a black 1977 VW Beetle Convertible.
According to the Bensinger interview, Foreman worked for the Job Corps when he was 16 and had to walk everywhere, because no one would give him a ride. That perceived slight drove him to get a Volkswagen as soon as he could afford one.
There was nothing particularly special about the Beetle, which in '77 had an MSRP of $3,000. The opposed 4-cylinder 1.6-liter 96-cid kicked out 48hp with 73 ft-lbs of torque. But with 1,123,575 built that year, it was a car many people loved. Interestingly, 1977 happened to be the same year the Beetle was banned in the United States because Volkswagen decided not to invest in meeting compliance standards of new U.S. safety regulations.
According to the boxer, it's the only car he ever really wanted, and even today, the one he would never sell because it reminds him of where he came from. In fact, Foreman loves that Beetle so much he said that all of the other cars in his collection "are just dressing around it."
During the Bensinger interview, George IV, who takes care of the cars today, said if his dad found out that he'd even cracked open the door on the VW, let alone driven it, he'd probably have to fight him.
1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
Foreman told Bensinger, "If you're going to get a car, get a Rolls-Royce once, and then you realize how important a Chevrolet is." He's obviously a bowtie guy through and through. Still, there's a slice of truth to his statement about owning a car with "The Spirit of Ecstasy" hood ornament because it is one of the definitive examples of upper-echelon luxury automobiles.
GQ Magazine reported Foreman bought the Silver Shadow new in '74 when he was the world's heavyweight champ. With over 30,000 built, it's considered the most-produced Rolls model in the company's history. Aside from the four-door Shadow, Foreman also owns a Silver Cloud. If the Shadow can be regarded as more of a "daily" Rolls-Royce driver, the Silver Cloud is the far more stately looking of the two and the one that you'd most expect to see only on special occasions, with a behatted chauffeur up front.
The Shadow could slip in and out of traffic with its powerful 6.8-liter, 412-cid cast-aluminum engine, twin SU diaphragm-type carburetors, and a 3-speed automatic transmission. Kicking out 220hp, even with a curb weight of 4,666 pounds, it can go from zero to sixty miles per hour in 10.1 seconds at a top speed of 121 mph.
2005 Ford GT
According to Motor Trend, Ford "reincarnated a Le Mans legend for the street" when it released the GT in 2005. And even when it was released three years after Ford's initial announcement, many car enthusiasts were still stupefied that it existed.
Powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged, inter-cooled DOHC 32-valve V8, kicking out 500hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. Decked out with a 6-speed manual transmission, it goes from zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds and does the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds at 120 mph, with a top speed of 205.
When the car first went on sale, it was such a hot commodity that people were willing to pay more than $100,000 over the initial MSRP of $139,995 to have their very own "precious." The initial plan was to make 4,500 units of the supercar. Yet, in the two years of production, Ford only made 4,038. When the final bell tolled, eleven unfinished bodies were leftover, which were promptly taken apart and saved for parts.
According to George IV, when his dad first purchased the Ford GT, it became an "instant classic" in the collection. And, as one might expect, everyone wanted to know if it was faster than the Ferrari F40, which his dad also owns — along with a Ferrari 360 Spider and a 458 Italia.
Chevrolet Silverado Z71
One source claims Foreman has more than 10 Corvettes in his collection, so including one on this list might be considered low-hanging fruit. The senior boxer, now 74, admits that he hardly ever drives most of his cars, preferring to look at them instead.
But the one vehicle he does drive often is a Chevy Silverado Z71. For decades, the Silverado has been one of the best-selling trucks in the United States. According to the Bill Walsh Automotive Group, it was the first truck to use hydroforming (a process to make light, long-lasting steel) and, in 2004, the first to offer a hybrid version.
Perhaps he was swayed by the dulcet tones of Bob Seger's voice, who provided the soundtrack for the company's truck commercials for so many years. More likely, though, it's because he has a lot of dogs. Not a smattering of different breeds, mind you, but eleven German shepherds. It's kind of hard to haul around that many big dogs in a 1997 Lamborghini Diablo VT (which he also owns).
In 2019, CNN reported that the garage housing many of the big man's cars in Texas caught fire. Fortunately, all the dogs started barking and "raised the alarm" to save the day. Most of the vehicles escaped with only minor smoke and water damage.
1971 Stutz Blackhawk
Finally, we come to perhaps one of the most unique cars in Foreman's collection — the Stutz Blackhawk. First unveiled at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1970, it was made until 1987. The brainchild behind what was the most expensive car in the world at the time was former Chrysler designer Virgil Exner, who was, according to the Robb Report, "a self-confessed weirdo."
Whereas a Corvette would set you back some $5,500 and a Ferrari Daytona $15,000, the Stutz Blackhawk had a starting MSRP of around $23,000. Interior options included burl-wood paneling, 24-karat gold plated trim, mink carpeting, a liquor cabinet, and a cigar lighter. It was also the first production car with 17-inch wheels.
While it took 1,500 hours to build each car, underneath all that "gold-chain-and-cocktail-ring aesthetic" were some pretty run-of-the-mill underpinnings. The Stutz sat on top of a 1971 Pontiac Grand Prix chassis and was strapped with a Pontiac 7.5-liter 455-cid V8 with a three-speed automatic transmission.
During the '70s, this was the car to have. Everyone who was anyone owned this car, including Elvis (four of them), Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin (three), Paul McCartney, Elton John, Lucille Ball, and even Evel Knievel. And since Muhammad Ali drove one, you just know Foreman had to as well.