The Fabulous Rides of Apple's Sir Jony Ive

Jony Ive (short for Jonathan Ive) might not be a name you're familiar with but if you've owned an Apple product in the last 30 or so years - he had something to do with designing it! That iPhone? Jony Ive. That MacBook? Jony Ive. iPod? Yep, that was him too. Although he left Apple in 2019 to form his own design studio called LoveFrom with fellow industrial designer Marc Newson, Apple will be the studio's primary client.

He's a massive petrol head as well, and, thanks to his shares in Apple and his pivotal role in helping the company avoid bankruptcy with his translucent iMac G3 design in the late 90s, he's extremely rich. Like, £192m rich.

Since Ive's early years in the UK, he's always been interested in automotive design and he frequently attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed where he serves as a jury member for competitions. He's been known to prefer British cars, favouring manufacturers like Land Rover, Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls Royce. Having lived and worked in California for quite some time, we're pleased to hear that Jony Ive likes to fly the flag for British engineering!

Here are a few of the cars that Jony Ive has been linked to...

Aston Martin DB4

The DB4 is a grand tourer that was produced from 1958 up until 1968 and can reach speeds of 139mph. Only 1,204 were produced with 19 of them being the DB4GT variant. Although the design and construction techniques were Italian, the DB4 was the first Aston to be built at the company's Newport Pagnell works in Buckinghamshire, England.

Aston Martin DB9

The DB9 is a supercar known but being driven by none other than James Bond. Jony had the car delivered to New York and drove to cross country (likely to California) with his dad, Mike. Assuming he did drive it from NY to CA, that drive would have taken him 42 hours - it safe to say this guy loves to drive!

Unfortunately, just one month after Jony took delivery, he wrecked the car on Interstate 280 near San Bruno. The accident almost killed him and a fellow Apple employee. Daniel De Luliis who was a passenger said; “Something happened in the traffic. Jony lost control of the car, which went into a spin. It sling-shotted the back end, whacked into a panel truck and knocked that over, and went straight into the median. The whole car was smashed. They were lucky to get out alive. The car was a mess; totally fucked up on all sides.”

Ironically, the car crash alerted Apple to how important Jony is to the company and they gave him a big pay raise. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Aston Martin Vanquish

After the crash, Jony opted to go for an Aston Martin Vanquish and, he apparently got a discount because he's English and has a close relationship with Steve Jobs.

As well as being James Bond's favourite manufacturer, Aston Martin and known for its innovative manufacturing techniques. Aston Martin cars are built from unusual, lightweight materials like aluminium, carbon fibre and magnesium. Jony soon introduced similar production methods to Apple's manufacturing process. 

Bentley Brooklands

As amazing as Bentley cars are, they're sometimes seen as a poorer (but still very, very rich) mans Rolls Royce. Obviously, Jony Ive didn't opt for a Bentley because the Rolls was out of his price range, he's a man who can certainly afford to drive any car he wants.

Jony has a white Bentley Brooklands and a black one, costing about 115k each. Being one of the most powerful and influential people at the most valuable tech brand in the world certainly has its perks!

Land Rover LR3

Another iconic British manufacturer, the Land Rover LR3 is one of the most recognisable cars that Land Rover ever produced. Jony is said to have purchased the car after one of his colleagues in the design studio bought one. “Jony wanted one as well and got one within days,” said a source.

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

Not much is known about Jony's Silver Cloud, he's briefly mentioned it in an interview with the Financial Times and there have always been rumours that he used to commute in a Rolls-Royce, maybe the Silver Cloud was used as a daily driver?