Le chanteur d'AC/DC roule en Ferrari 458 Italia

[Franck 6 689]

Brian Johnson, vous connaissez ? Son nom n'est pas très connu, son groupe l'est beaucoup plus : il est le chanteur d'AC/DC ! Il vient de s'offrir sa première Ferrari. Je me souviens l'avoir vu récemment dans l'émission Top Gear tourner sur circuit dans la section "A star in a reasonnably priced car". Il avait plutôt un bon coup de volant.

Ci-dessous l'article qui parle de son acquisition. J'aime bien la dernière phrase : il était à une sortie circuit Porsche. "Tous ces types étaient venus avec leur Porsche spécialement équipées pour la piste. Un Suisse avait sa 458 toute neuve, il l'a sortie aussi. Rien ne pouvait l'approcher."

"Electrifying" Singer Gets His First Ferrari

Profile: Brian Johnson

Ferraris driven: 458 Italia

The word "tour" means something different to singer Brian Johnson than it does to most Ferrari owners. For Johnson, it means playing sold-out concerts to more than five million people in 28 countries over 20 months in support of rock band AC/DC's multi-platinum album, "Black Ice." At over $440 million, the tour was the world's second-highest grossing ever.

When the tour was over, Johnson, an inveterate car buff and racer, bought his first-ever Ferrari, a 458 Italia. Speaking in a manner that can only be described as exclamatory and joyful, Johnson said the sound of fast cars and racecars was "just as sexy" as the rock 'n' roll music he's loved since a kid.

Johnson joined AC/DC 30 years ago; the first album he recorded with the group, "Back in Black," is the world's second-best seller behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller," with nearly 50 million copies sold.

"A lot of people tell me how much they listened to AC/DC," said Johnson. "Music takes you back to memories. Cars are like that, too." He has captured his own car memories in a book, "Rockers and Rollers: An Automotive Autobiography." Released in England, the book will be published in the United States in the spring.

"In my book, I talk about how rock 'n' roll coincided with the revved-up car styling and performance of the 1950s," Johnson said. It was while promoting the book in England as a guest on Chris Evans' Breakfast Show that Johnson got his Ferrari. Radio personality Evans is known for his impressive collection of vintage and modern Ferraris. He recently added a 250 GTO to his collection, as well as the 250 GT California Spider once owned by actor James Coburn.

Johnson shared with Ferrari News the story he told Evans on the radio last summer:

"After the tour, I was in New York with my wife Brenda," Johnson said. "As our limo was passing the Ferrari showroom on Park Avenue, I called out to the driver, 'Stop!' I jumped out and went inside. There was a white 458 Italia on the floor, and though I don't prefer white cars, this was the most stunning thing I'd ever seen. I wanted to buy it on the spot but found out there was a wait."

In the radio studio, Johnson said Evans picked up the phone and made a call. A few moments later, Evans asked Johnson, "What color do you want, Brian – red or black?" "Red!" Johnson replied. Evans had found a car that was available and told him that a man was going to drive a red 458 Italia from Switzerland to England.

Johnson and his wife, who live mainly in Sarasota, Florida, were staying at their home in London's Chelsea section. Johnson continued: "The next morning, there was a knock at my door, and a man saying, 'I've got your Ferrari, Mr. Johnson. I just need a check.'"

Johnson couldn't resist taking a short drive in London (where he normally drives a Fiat 500). "I was a little nervous in busy traffic and didn't want anything to happen to it," he said. "Left-hand drive made it harder in London. I took it down the King's Road. You see all the exotics on that road, but this Ferrari stopped people in their tracks. The sound, the shape – this car has a presence!"

Johnson took up auto racing several years ago. He currently drives a 1971 Royale RP4 (a lightweight sports-racer) and a Pilbeam MP84 (an English sports racer) in Historic Sportscar Racing and just added a 1965 Lola T70 to his stable. "I raced the Pilbeam for the first time at Sebring in 2008 and got first in class and third overall in a four-hour race," he said. Brenda also races a vintage sports car.

"I've never had a Ferrari. I always had British cars," Johnson said. When in Sarasota, he often drives his 1928 Bentley 4.5-Liter Vanden Plas Le Mans and now will also add his 458 Italia to the mix. He's a member of the Sarasota Café Racers, which calls itself "a non-club-club" that meets twice a month for lunch and "to celebrate the artistry of automobile heritage, styling, performance and engineering." Johnson's classic Bentley – and now his new Ferrari – fit right in with the group's wide variety of vehicles, which include high-end sports cars, classics, musclecars and racecars.

Johnson is itching to take his 458 Italia on the track, especially after something he witnessed while attending a Porsche Club track tour in England. "All these guys had their special race-ready Porsches. A Swiss man had his brand new 458 Italia and took it out, too. Nothing could catch him -- I was blown away."

[Trois cinquante cinq 3 351]

Vu en conçert à Nice en juin de cette année,du grand show comme ils savent les faire ;D

[MechanicsInMotion 6]

AC/DC...tu me touches au coeur Franck! 

Il n'est pas à son premier essai, je me souviens d'une photo au début des années 80 juste après la mort de Bon Scott où on voyait le groupe autour d'une splendide 308 jaune. Il faut aussi savoir que Brian Johnson possède une jolie collection de voitures anciennes.

Long live Rock'n Roll.

Un petit focus sur le concert du 18 juin au Stade de France

http://mechanicsinmotion.blogspot.com/2010/06/acdc-stade-de-france-18-juin-2010.html

David@MechanicsInMotion

[philM 3 539]

moi aussi je les ai vu en concert ... en 1988 ...

j'avais gagné des places (et 24h d'acouphènes) avec Zegut à l'époque sur RTL !

ça fait un peu ancien combattant tout ça, ceci dit, pour nombre d'entre nous, la passion pour les voitures rouges a commencé à cette période de notre vie.  Ça reste quand même moins cher d'acheter une Gibson SG qu'une Ferrari, je devrais peut-être y réfléchir  :-[

[Trois cinquante cinq 3 351]

La première fois,c etait au stade de France en 2001,si mes souvenirs sont bons(avec offspring en partie1).

Toujours la peche les papys!

[Franck 6 689]

AC/DC...tu me touches au coeur Franck! 

J'ai pensé à toi en postant ce sujet, et je n'imaginais pas qu'il aurait autant de succès !

Vous écoutez quoi dans votre Ferrari ? Highway to Hell !?  8)

[f360cs 1 054]

Hey sympa ce ptit sujet !!

Voilà un des groupes phares du hard rock...............Avec Led Zepp',Black Sabbath,Aerosmith....Beaucoup de ces anciens rockers possèdent depuis longtemps des joyaux automobiles...Nick Mason par ex !!!!! (chuis dingue de Pink Floyd ... ;D)

[screensmoke 918]

Hey sympa ce ptit sujet !!

Voilà un des groupes phares du hard rock...............Avec Led Zepp',Black Sabbath,Aerosmith....Beaucoup de ces anciens rockers possèdent depuis longtemps des joyaux automobiles...Nick Mason par ex !!!!! (chuis dingue de Pink Floyd ... ;D)

+1 Que du lourd ici

[Franck 6 689]

Hey sympa ce ptit sujet !!

Voilà un des groupes phares du hard rock...............Avec Led Zepp',Black Sabbath,Aerosmith....Beaucoup de ces anciens rockers possèdent depuis longtemps des joyaux automobiles...Nick Mason par ex !!!!! (chuis dingue de Pink Floyd ... ;D)

Nick Mason, c'est encore une autre dimension, vu les Ferrari de collection qu'il possède.

D'ailleurs elles étaient exposées il y a quelques années à Rétromobile.