Tom Cruise Blacklisted By Bugatti From Buying Their Cars? Fact vs Fiction
Tom Cruise is known for performing death-defying stunts in his movies. The ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise has a huge fan-following all over the world. Like many other famous Hollywood actors, he also owns an enviable collection of expensive and exotic cars and SUVs. A rumour is now circulating in enthusiast circles that Bugatti has silently banned Cruise from making future purchases from them. So, is the ban for real, or is this just another viral Hollywood folklore? Let’s do a quick fact check...
This incident dates back to May 2006. The third instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise (MI-3) was set to premiere. Cruise arrived at the venue in his brand-new, multi-crore Bugatti Veyron. The 1000hp hypercar was then considered as a status symbol, and many A-list celebs had it in their respective garages. Even today, the Veyron is the poster car of many.
Cruise did arrive in style, together with his then-wife Katie Holmes. Holmes was seated in the co-driver’s seat. He had bought the Veyron in 2005. Back then, the hypercar had a price of over $1 million (around Rs 8.8 crores, as per today's rates- 1 USD= Rs 88.09). The premiere event was meant to highlight the actor’s penchant for speed and grandeur.
Things, however, took a wild turn when the actor tried to open the passenger-side door for his wife. He struggled to open the door! Despite his efforts, the door did not budge. The actor was surrounded by fans and a lot of cameras. The fiddle continued for around 40 seconds. Cameras around captured the entire action.
Fans found these moments amusing, but Bugatti did not! The carmaker felt this to be damaging to its global reputation. Bugatti allegedly saw this incident as ‘an unfortunate misrepresentation of its engineering precision and exclusivity’.
Rumours were soon out, saying that Bugatti had silently blacklisted the actor, effectively barring him from buying its products in the future. It, however, never confirmed this officially, nor did it make any public statement on this. A part of you might choose to dismiss Cruise’s ban as a mere rumour, citing a lack of official brand confirmation as the reason.
It should, however, be noted that many brands do not go vocal about its ‘blacklists’ or ‘do not sell’ lists. Ferrari, on the other hand, keeps them public. Celebs like Kardashian and Justin Bieber are already banned from buying Ferraris.
Cruise isn’t the only one that Bugatti has restricted from purchasing its products. Previously, stars including Floyd 'Money' Mayweather, Flo Rida, Simon Cowell, and 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button were banned by the French carmaker. Many of these were never confirmed officially. So, it seems safe to believe that the actor’s ban is real.
Many supercar makers are very picky about their respective owner bases. Many have ‘zero tolerance’ policies against owners whose deeds could potentially bring dents to their brand image and reputations. Ferrari is notorious for this.
Bugatti has always symbolised performance, speed, and luxury. It maintains strict standards for picking (and keeping) owners as well. To own a Bugatti, owners will need to demonstrate their ability to take proper care of the car and do its maintenance properly.
To give you more perspective, a Bugatti will command an annual maintenance cost of over $21,000 (Rs 18.5 lakh). Due to the car’s extreme focus on performance, the tyres will need to be replaced every 10,000 miles. Each owner is required to maintain the reputation of Bugatti, throughout the ownership journey.