Top five craziest celebrity car stories of 2015

Used to evade paparazzi, create blockbuster-worthy chase scenes and serve as statement-making birthday presents, cars have plenty of purpose in showbiz.

Here are our five most memorable celebrity car stories of the past year.

Jeremy Clarkson fired, Top Gear trio walk
Possibly the biggest scandal of the year for revheads around the world was the sacking of Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson, who got himself the boot from BBC head honchos for "sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature" against the show's senior producer Oisin Tymon.

Even the North Yorkshire police got involved, investigating 55-year-old Clarkson for his behavior, which reportedly left Tymon with a "bloody lip" (they eventually dropped the investigation after Tymon decided not to press charges).

In a post-firing interview with radio host Chris Evans – who was coincidentally appointed Clarkson's replacement soon after – Clarkson admitted it was his fault he lost the coveted gig.

"It was my own silly fault so I can hardly complain," he said.

Clarkson's co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May were left pondering their futures and were clearly displeased with the departure of the most magnetic member of their trio.

"Gutted at such a sad end to an era. We're all three of us idiots in our different ways but it's been an incredible ride together," Hammond tweeted after the news broke.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hammond and May walked soon after and announced they would reunite with Clarkson for a new show on Amazon Prime's Instant Video service.

In November, new host Evans revealed the airdate of BBC's Top Gear reboot with him at the helm as May 8, 2016. Only time will tell if fans will be able to embrace a new fearless leader.

The Kardashians' krazy kar kollection
Although lots of celebrities in Hollywood drive a humble Prius – the easy way to look like an environmental activist – some prefer their cars to make a statement.

No family is more adept at standing out than the Kardashians, stars of guilty-pleasure reality television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Thanks to a lucrative portfolio of product endorsements, nightclub appearances and clothing lines, they've got cash to burn and they spend it on pimping their rides.

In September 2015, Khloe Kardashian unveiled a particularly impractical car makeover on Instagram: the 31-year-old covered her Range Rover in velvet.

"Yes, he wrapped my truck in velvet and I LOVE it!" Kardashian captioned a photo posted on Instagram of her "beast".

The "he" responsible was Ryan Friedlinghaus of West Coast Customs, a car customisation company known for working with high-profile celebrities. The makeover took the matte car trend to a whole new, ridiculous level. Seriously, who wants a car that's dry-clean only?

Meanwhile, Kardashian's younger half-sister, Kylie Jenner, also made headlines when she received a Ferrari 458 convertible from her boyfriend, rapper Tyga, for her 18th birthday in August. The car is worth an estimated $350,000 – not a bad coming-of-age present.

Porsche blames Paul Walker for his own death
It was a tragic accident that claimed the life of Fast and the Furious star Paul Walker at the age of 40 in November 2013. On his way to a charity event with friend Roger Rodas in Rodas' red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, Walker died when the car crashed into a concrete lamp post and two trees in Santa Clarita, California.

Rodas was at the wheel and Walker in the passenger seat – both died at the scene. The story came to the forefront of the news cycle again in September this year when Walker's 16-year-old daughter Meadow sued Porsche for wrongful death, alleging the company skimped on safety features that would have prevented her father's death.

In response to the lawsuit, Porsche blamed Rodas and Walker for their own deaths, arguing Walker was "a knowledgeable and sophisticated user of the 2005 Carrera GT" and that the car he died in had been "abused and altered" and "misused and improperly maintained".

It was an unfortunate end to the tragedy, which rocked the lives of fans around the world that had grown to love Walker's portrayal of Brian O'Connor in the popular franchise. For the most recent instalment of the films, Furious 7, Walker's younger brothers were used as stand-ins for the scenes he was unable to finish filming.

"If Porsche had designed the car to include proper safety features, Paul would have survived, he would be filming 'Fast and Furious 8' and Meadow Walker would have the father she adored," a rep for Meadow Walker told TMZ.

Jeep chases celebrity car loans
A brief scroll through the Instagram accounts of some local celebrities will reveal that Jeep Australia was fairly generous with its loans policy this year.

Under its brand ambassador program, which includes names like Jesinta Campbell and Shane Warne, the company allegedly loaned "hundreds" of cars to stars.

In June this year, it was revealed the company was chasing down these loans as part of a legal dispute with former Fiat Chrysler Australia (FCA) boss Clyde Campbell.

According to News Corp, executives at the company had "no idea" where many of the cars loaned during Campbell's tenure were now.

"Everyone got cars. There are hundreds of cars missing that no one could account for," a source told News Corp.

The plot thickened when former Socceroo Harry Kewell was accused of collusion with Campbell on an "unauthorised" sponsorship deal. Kewell is suing FCA for ending his $1.5 million-a-year deal after Campbell's departure.

The trial between FCA and Campbell is scheduled to take place in September next year, but Kewell's case is expected to be heard even sooner.

James Bond ruins millions of dollars worth of cars
Most people can only dream of driving an Aston Martin DB10. James Bond gets to drive a whole bunch of them, and then destroy them.

For this year's Spectre, the 24th Bond film, Aston Martin provided 10 custom-designed DB10s and only got three of them back. According to a report on the Mail Online, the multi-million dollar production destroyed roughly $US34 million worth of cars.

This is unsurprising given the number of high-risk chase scenes featured in the film, including one filmed in Rome involving a DB10 with a Jaguar C-X75 in hot pursuit.

Aston Martin has appeared in 12 Bond films and has become synonymous with 007. Maybe that's why they didn't get too angry when Daniel Craig totaled their shiny new designs.