Shaquille O’Neal’s considerable frame (not to mention talent and work ethic) has helped him become one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But it hasn’t always been an advantage. As Shaq recently revealed on the Conan O’Brien’s eponymous talk show, being his size makes buying a Ferrari a challenge.
During the show, he shared the modifications he had to make to buy a Ferrari.
“When I first came from Baton Rouge, Beverly Hills, you see all the fancy cars come by. So one day I see a Ferrari come by. I was like: ‘I want one of those guys.’ So I went to the thing and the guy was like: ‘You’re too big.’ And I hate those words.”
“So one of the guys was like ‘maybe you’ve got to get two and put them together’… I was like: ‘you know what, maybe. I will. I’ll take that one and that one’ – and I got a Ferrari.”
Shaquille O’Neal
“Wait so you built a Ferrari?” Conan asked in disbelief, “Where you cut them apart… and then made like a giant stretch Ferrari?”
“Yes,” Shaq responded.
In an unconfirmed video from Youtube, user ‘Slot King Dream’ purports to take viewers through a tour of Shaq’s modified 1998 Ferrari F355 Spider, writing: “Yelp…Shaquille O’Neal 1st Ferrari modified definitely for a big man.”
The Youtube user claims that when sitting down, even with their legs stretched to their fullest, they can’t reach Shaq’s old Ferrari pedals. They also point out the petrol tank in the bonnet (usually it would be at the back, but Shaq had it removed so that he could move the seats back).
Slot King Dream also said there’s no top to Shaq’s modified Ferrari, either.
The Sports Rush reports that Shaq’s Ferrari’s interior was modified with wider aftermarket seats and that a custom Alpine sound system was also fitted.
According to driving.ca, O’Neal sold the Ferrari in question for US$65,000 in late December 2020.
Other notable cars Shaq has bought include a 1963 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, a customized Chevrolet Express G1500, Escalade, and a Lamborghini Gallardo.
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