The Eurovision Song Contest has been a highlight in the annual entertainment calendar for decades since its inaugural event in 1956. This year, however, the event is both unique and poignant, with Liverpool hosting the 67th event on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine. To celebrate Eurovision 2023, we’ve taken a look back at some of the best winners and more importantly, the vehicles associated with them.
1. Agnetha Fältskog – Triumph Spitfire
With hits such as Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and Take a Chance on Me still among the most popular radio tunes worldwide decades after their release, Abba is one of the best-selling bands of all time – but their journey to success began with their hit Waterloo, Sweden’s winning entry to the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
Agnetha Fältskog’s career, however, began in 1968 when she found success in Sweden after publishing her self-titled debut album. The following year she purchased her first vehicle – a Triumph Spitfire.
2. Celine Dion – Rolls-Royce Corniche
In Eurovision 1988, then 20-year-old Canadian singer Celine Dion represented Switzerland with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, winning the competition with just one point more than the UK’s entry (Go by Scott Fitzgerald). The song went on to top the charts for three straight weeks, especially in French-speaking countries such as Belgium.
Her success continued into the 2000s, with her net worth reaching an estimated $700 million! Although she has been known to drive a Maybach 62 and a Mercedes-Benz S350 among other cars, her favourite is reported to be her 1995 Rolls-Royce Corniche.
3. Johnny Logan – Opel Monza
Johnny Logan is the only person who has won Eurovision more than once. He won it two times as a performer representing Ireland and two more times as a songwriter.
Off the back of his Eurovision fame, Logan enjoyed living life in the spotlight. His pièce de résistance was a now iconic advertising campaign for fashion house Alias Tom, featuring the dapper Logan leaning on an Opel Monza.
4. Toto Cutugno – LaFerrari
With a price tag of €1.3 million, LaFerrari is a hybrid vehicle featuring a V12 petrol engine (800 HP and 700 Nm of torque) and an electric motor (163 HP and 270 Nm of torque). The V12 engine is capable of 9250 rpm, while the combination of the V12 and the electric motor results in a total output of 963 HP, allowing the LaFerrari to accelerate to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds, with just 7 seconds to reach 200 km/h and 15 seconds for 300 km/h. The top speed is more than 350 km/h.
LaFerrari’s hybrid system, the HY-KERS, is capable of supplying energy to the electric motor and recharging the batteries on braking and excess torque from the V12 engine.
So what has all of this got to do with someone who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Italy in 1990? Quite simply, the name LaFerrari is widely believed to have acquired its name from his 1983 hit L’Italiano.
5. Lulu – Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupé
Scottish singer Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, best known by her stage name Lulu, won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1969 with her hit song Boom Bang-a-Bang, which reached number 2 in the UK singles chart.
In 2019, Lulu’s Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupé went to auction at Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Motor Show sale. Red with a black leather interior and an original Becker Mexico radio cassette player and sunroof, the 280SE was enjoyed by Lulu for three years before she sold it to an Arabian businessman living in London. The car was listed with a guide price of in the region of £75,000.
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