A LUXURY car modifier and TV star has recalled working on Simon Cowell’s £98,000 Tesla Model X.
Yianni Charalambous, who hosts BBC Three’s Yianni: Supercar Customiser, explained how an out-of-the-blue phone call led to one of his most ambitious and unusual projects for the X-Factor judge.
BBCYianni Charalambous has worked on cars for all sorts of A-listers, from footballers to TV stars[/caption]
He named Simon Cowell’s £98,000 Tesla as his favourite projectFacebook / Just Simon Cowell
Speaking to The Sun Online, Yianni revealed how the collaboration came about and the bizarre colour the talent show legend wanted.
He said: “I always wanted to do Simon Cowell’s car.
“I’d done everyone’s car and I put it out in the universe.
“I respect him as an entrepreneur and a businessman.
“We got a call and an old lady was like ‘I’ve got Simon Cowell for you’.”
However, Yianni was stunned when Simon opted for a less-than-traditional colour for his motor.
He added: “I was thinking ‘this is Simon Cowell, he’s going to go for satin black, matte grey, a silver, a blue’.
“He goes to me ‘Yianni, I want to go chrome red’.”
Every aspect of the car had to be decked out in the mirrored red wrap, right down to the trimmings around the windows and the door handles.
Perhaps even more surprising was the reason that the A-lister opted for such an outlandish colour.
Apparently, it all came down to Simon doing the school run with his young son Eric.
According to Yianni, the music industry legend saw a stream of other parents with a Model X, all in the same standard black colour.
This led him to plump for something with a little more flair in order to stand out from the crowd.
Yianni added: You’d never, ever believe he would have that colour on his car.”
Not that this is his first brush with celebrity, having previously modded motors for Arsenal stars Bacary Sagna and William Gallas.
But there are a couple of A-listers who have so far eluded him, with Yianni revealing which top personalities he’d like to work with in 2024 – and they’re all in the same job.
He named Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton as a chat show trio whose vehicles he would love to get his hands on in the near future.
Yianni: Supercar Customiser airs weeknights from 7-7.45pm on BBC Three and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
It comes after a Bentley owned by a beloved British comedy legend went under the hammer for over £150,000.
Facebook / Just Simon CowellThe X-Factor judge apparently wanted to stand out on the school run[/caption]
Instagram / @yiannimizeYianni is famed for his chrome car wraps[/caption]
Instagram / @yiannimizeHis BBC Three show airs weeknights from 7-7.45pm[/caption]