When it comes to cars, Champagne Papi started at the bottom with an Acura and now he’s here…
According to financial estimates, Canadian musician, rapper, record producer and entrepreneur Aubrey “Drake” Graham is worth a whopping $150 million. He has appeared in Forbes’ Hip Hop Cash Kings list every year for the past decade and has had more No1 hits than Michael Jackson. He’s not as rich as hip-hop billionaire Jay-Z, but he’s doing OK.
However, with great wealth comes great responsibility and that means Drake is careful with his money… and obviously you only get a nickname (one of a great many) like Champagne Papi by being frugal. Sure, every now and again he throws a low-key soiree, occasionally goes shopping for some new clothes and of course he gives to charity, but he does have one serious indulgence. So to celebrate Drizzy’s birthday – the big 3-4 – we thought we’d take a look at his automotive greatest hits. Starting at the bottom…
Acura TSX (2004)
Legend (and by that we mean Instagram) has it that Drake’s first car was a Chevrolet Malibu, but not a cool one… His was a fifth-generation, front-wheel-drive midsize popular with the retirement community in Florida for its nondescript styling and slightly above-average reliability. However, his follow-up “first car”, acquired after Drake landed the role of wheelchair-bound Jimmy Brooks in Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, was equally underwhelming. With a little taste of fame came the Acura TSX, another midsize, generally reliable Japanese production car that, according to one breathless review, “goes about its business so smoothly and so silkily that precision could be its middle name”. No wonder Young Pablito put his good money down and he remembers it fondly. In “Underground Kings”, he recalls, “With fame on my mind, my girl on my nerves, I was pushing myself to get something that I deserve. That was back in the days, Acura days.” Good times.
Bugatti Veyron – Sang Noir Edition (2010) 
As trade-ups go, making the move from an Acura to a Bugatti Veyron hypercar is quite a move. Inspired by the Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic from the mid-1930, only 12 “Sang Noir” (Black Blood) editions were made and they cost $2.2m back in 2010. Sounds pricey until you look at the top-line stats: it featured an 8.0-litre quad turbocharged W16 engine that created 987bhp and was capable of hitting 62mph inside 2.5 seconds and would keep going to a top speed of 253mph. And Drake had the only one in Canada. Justin Bieber was only 16 at the time, but he was well jels. However, 6God soon got bored with it and put it up for sale in 2014, haunted perhaps by an experience he documented in “Child’s Play”: “You wildin’, you super childish. You go to CVS for Kotex in my Bugatti.” The pharmacy in question refused to confirm or deny the allegation.
Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible (2010)
In the video for “Started From The Bottom”, Drake recalls his early, less financially-viable days as he is filmed wearing all white rapping next to an ice-white Bentley Continental GTC in the snow. However, in real life Drake would never be so irresponsible. Imagine the cleaning bill! So rather than risk besmirching his ride or his outfit, Papi Champù owned a Supersports version that, at the time, was the fastest convertible Bentley had ever produced and could accelerate from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and eventually reach 202mph. And the interior was black – so much easier to clean.
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (2010)
