With over 50 acting credits to his name and a reputation as one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, Tom Cruise is nothing short of an industry legend. His success on the big screen has earned him tens of millions of dollars over his career, with some estimates putting his net worth as high as $600 million, and his yearly income at around $50 million (via Celebrity Net Worth). With money like that, Cruise could feasibly buy any car he wanted, and unsurprisingly, he has a garage full of rare and exotic automobiles.
He’s not just a fan of cars either, as his extensive collection of vehicles also includes plenty of motorcycles, helicopters, and even a few airplanes. However, going through his entire collection would require an article the size of a small novel, so we’re sticking with the highlights of his four-wheeled vehicles here. His garage features everything from classic muscle icons to million-dollar hypercars, and he’s got some very rare vehicles under his ownership.
Tom Cruise is a noted fan of the Porsche 911, and has been seen driving several of them over the years. One of his 911s is a black 996 which he reportedly purchased new (via MotorBiscuit). The 996 gained a mixed reputation over the years thanks to its controversial design, switch from air-cooling to water-cooling, and parts shared with the cheaper Boxster convertible. Despite the controversy, it was, in every objective sense, better than the 993 generation it replaced. It was faster, its handling was sharper, and it was more economical (via Hagerty).
Nevertheless, the 996’s lack of acceptance among purists has kept resale values low, and today it remains the cheapest way into 911 ownership. Over 175,000 examples of the 996 were sold between 1997 and 2005, according to Stuttcars, and many of those are still on the road today. Cruise might never have to worry about the resale value of his cars, but for those of us who don’t have a nine-figure net worth, the 996 is arguably one of the smartest sports car investments on the market at the moment.
Not every car that Cruise has in his collection is a valuable one — some of them simply hold sentimental value to the veteran actor. Cruise’s first car, a Dodge Colt, is one such vehicle, as it allowed him to travel to New York City from his home in New Jersey to pursue an acting career. The Colt might bear an all-American logo, but it was actually a rebadged Mitsubishi Galant, which was imported to America in 1971 after Chrysler acquired a stake in Mitsubishi.
The Colt was a far cry from the typical brawny Detroit muscle cars, with either a 1.3-liter or 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine available (via Mitsubishi). It wasn’t fast, but it was perfect for a struggling actor who needed something cheap but reliable. Not much is known about Cruise’s exact car, but it was critical in his early career, ferrying him between studios and auditions. It’s also a relatively rare vehicle today, as most Colts were sent off to the scrap heap years ago.
The 993 generation of the Porsche 911 is a favorite among all manner of celebrities from Harry Styles to Kendall Jenner, and Tom Cruise is also said to own one (via South China Morning Post). Sold in America between 1995 and 1998, the 993 generation was the last air-cooled 911 and the final iteration of the original car’s design before the 996 arrived with an almost entirely new shape. It improved on its predecessor, the 964, in several ways, both technologically and with a revised design that saw only the roof and doors carried over from the previous car.
At its heart sat a 3.6-liter, 6-cylinder engine that made 272 horsepower in naturally-aspirated form, or 282 horsepower in later models. It was the first 911 to offer a six-speed manual transmission, although a four-speed automatic was also available. In many ways, though, the 993 was idolized simply because it was the last of its kind for purists, a fact that comedian Jerry Seinfeld has paid tribute to with his 993’s custom “LAST” license plate. Cruise’s 993 has no witty plates, but it’s likely the actor is fond of it for similar reasons.
The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS is one of the most highly-regarded muscle cars of its era, and it can be found in the garages of plenty of celebrities, including that of actor and petrolhead Vin Diesel. Tom Cruise had reportedly owned the Chevelle SS for years before deciding to take it to the big screen in the 2012 movie “Jack Reacher.” The car features in several of the film’s most iconic scenes, including a chase scene where Cruise is trying to outrun the law. The actor’s personal car was reportedly one of his earliest acquisitions after he became successful, and it’s an SS396 model with 350 horsepower on tap from its V8 engine (via GQ).
The Chevelle SS isn’t the only Chevy that Cruise has given a starring role on screen, as 1990’s NASCAR-focused “Days of Thunder” prominently featured a Lumina stock car. It’s not known exactly what happened to the Lumina used in the movie, and there’s been some suggestion that it’s also a part of Cruise’s car collection, although this has never been confirmed. It’s never come up for auction or been displayed as part of a private collection, so if it isn’t hiding away in Cruise’s garage, the sad reality is that it’s probably just sat in a scrap heap where no-one’s aware of how famous it used to be.
One of Tom Cruise’s breakout roles was in “Risky Business,” where he played Joel, a Chicago teenager who takes his father’s Porsche 928 on a road trip after his parents go on vacation. Several 928s were used in the filming of the movie, with one being plowed into a lake before the credits rolled (via GQ). Not every movie car met the same fate, though, and one example ended up at auction in 2021, selling for an eye-watering $1.9 million. Cruise didn’t take home any of the 928s used for filming, but he did eventually buy one of his own accord.
The 928 played an unusual role in Porsche’s history, as it was originally designed to replace the 911, and won plenty of critical acclaim at launch for its cutting-edge performance and luxurious grand touring feel. However, 911 buyers simply weren’t interested in the car, and it continued production unchanged until it was quietly scrapped in 1995 without a replacement (via Auto Express).
Any serious Chevy collector should have at least one Corvette in their garage, and Cruise’s is a classic. His 1958 C1 Corvette sports a cool glacier blue and white paint scheme, with a matching silvery-blue leather interior (via GQ). The original Corvette has established itself as a bona fide icon today, but it struggled to sell in its early years, partly because it straddled the line between a luxurious grand tourer and a proper sports car (via Car and Driver). It was a mix of both, but at the time, buyers were only really interested in one or the other. Of course, the Corvette would later go on to become a performance legend, but it’s the low sales numbers of these initial C1s that has made them so desirable among collectors today.
The 1958 model year car underwent a number of changes to make it more appealing to buyers, including the introduction of the dual-headlight design for the first time. The interior was also revised to move the tachometer from the center of the dash to a more conveniently-placed location, just below the speedometer. From ’58 onwards, the car also got a power boost, with a total of 290 horsepower available from its V8 engine. There were also a number of new packages introduced, including a racing package, with stiffer suspension and sharper steering. It’s not known what optional extras, if any, Cruise’s Corvette features.
One of Cruise’s most critically-acclaimed roles is in the 1988 movie “Rain Man,” which stars the actor alongside fellow industry great Dustin Hoffman. Two 1949 Buick Roadmasters were used in the filming of the movie, with one recently crossing the auction block at Bonhams. The Roadmaster’s role in the film was so prominent that director Barry Levinson called it the “third billing,” adding that “It became a character. Dustin, Tom Cruise, and the ’49 Buick.” It’s been reported that Cruise purchased one of the Roadmasters used in filming, although it remains unclear if this is true, as the Bonhams auction listing claims that the two cars instead went to Hoffman and Levinson.
What is certain is that Cruise has been seen driving a ’49 Roadmaster on several occasions, so it’s plausible that he bought one of his own accord, or simply borrowed one of the two cars for extended periods of time. Either way, it’s one of many movie cars that Cruise has in his collection, and one of his rarest cars to boot (via GQ).
Few cars represent the spirit of American car manufacturing better than the Ford Mustang, but Tom Cruise’s isn’t any old Mustang. He reportedly owns a Saleen Mustang S281, and liked the car so much that he had one shipped overnight across the country for the New York premiere of “Mission: Impossible III” (via Jalopnik). The S281 featured an extensive range of modifications over the standard Mustang, with the car’s 4.6-liter V8 modified to produce 330 horsepower (via MotorTrend). New suspension, wheels, body panels, and a luxurious interior all helped to differentiate the Saleen from its regular Ford-badged sibling, with individual customization options available every step of the way.
Fit and finish levels were also significantly higher than that of a regular Mustang, with plenty of optional extras for things like embroidery and paint schemes. The Saleen S281 Cruise drove in the “Mission: Impossible III” premiere featured a distinctive bright orange paint job, and he spent over $13,000 to have the vehicle overnighted from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey.
Aside from his movie career, one of the things Cruise is best known for is his long-running affiliation with the Church of Scientology. A former Church member claimed in 2011 that this was not just for spiritual reasons — in fact, the secretive organization was also allegedly responsible for building some of his favorite cars and bikes, including a Ford Excursion limousine. A former member of the Church’s Sea Org, John Brousseau, claimed to have built the Excursion at one of the group’s workshops in what amounted to slave labor conditions, being paid around $50 a week to work on the car (via Gawker).
Cruise and the Church denied Brousseau’s claims, stating that he was only ever an “advisor” on the project and that all the building work was carried out by independent contractors. According to GQ, the Ford’s modifications included ballistic-proof roof panels, special badging throughout the car emblazoned with the “TC” initials, and veneer from a eucalyptus tree that came from the Church’s own garden. Whether it was indeed built by contractors or by underpaid Church workers, the custom Excursion remains one of Cruise’s most unique (and controversial) vehicles.
In 2005, Cruise reportedly bought himself a brand-new Bugatti Veyron for a million euros, but in a strange turn of events, was allegedly banned from ever buying another one shortly after purchasing it (via Marca). The reason for this ban is an odd one: Cruise turned up to a premiere of “Mission: Impossible III” in his new car, with dozens of cameras primed to capture his arrival. He got out of the Veyron, briefly acknowledged the press, then went to open the passenger door for his then-wife Katie Holmes to get out. The trouble was, it appeared that Cruise had no idea how to get the door to open from the outside, and it took him several tries before he managed to open the handle.
The incident was caught by the waiting cameras and the footage was distributed all around the world, causing great embarrassment for Bugatti. This allegedly led to Cruise being added to the brand’s blacklist, meaning he was unable to purchase new cars from Bugatti dealers in the future. Sure enough, Cruise has never been seen driving a new Bugatti model, despite his initial enthusiasm for the brand before the incident.
