From McQueen to Ricciardo, these are the coolest faces in motoring

Who are the coolest customers in the world of motoring? From ice-cold CEOs like Lambo's Stephan Winkelmann, to fearless racers like Barry Sheene, the automotive sphere has long had a habit of creating characters way down the sub-zero end of the personality scale.

With 'man crush' mode firmly engaged, TopGear scanned the world of motoring to find the coolest faces in the business. In no particular order, here are eight of our heroes...
 

Salt and pepper sideburns, weather-beaten mahogany skin and those spray-on suits matched with oversize collars and knots. Lambo’s CEO is the brand personified, exuding outrageous style, but with substance to back it up. He looks and sounds Italian but was born in Germany. Much like his cars, then.

Some people are born with speed in their bones. The four-time world rally champion also won the Dakar Rally in ’88 and the Race of Champions twice – if it had four wheels, he could make it fly. Earlier this year, he set a new world speed record of 80.88mph... in a diesel-powered Valtra T234 tractor. See what we mean?

Head of Fiat for 30 years from 1966, Agnelli grew his empire into a $46.5bn business. Boardroom acumen aside, it was his immaculate sense of style, honed during a 20-year stint as a millionaire playboy before taking the reins at Fiat, that he was famed for – setting the template for a generation of charismatic CEOs to come. 

We exist in an age where, for big-money racing teams, having a polished PR machine comes before real personality. Hunt and Sheene did their own PR, usually with a fag on the go, a bottle in hand and a bird on each arm. One dominated on four wheels, the other on two, but both rarely had their racesuits above their ankles.

Now a famous father, but once a blisteringly fast driver in his own right, Keke was prepared to take risks where others wilted. Piloting a 1,000bhp+ Honda-powered Williams at the 1985 British GP, he set a lap record averaging 160.9mph. “I’m a cocky b*****d and I know it,” he once said. Fair enough.

McQueen didn’t need any help cementing his daredevil status among the Hollywood elite, but a gentle hand never hurts. Stuntman Bud jumped the fence in The Great Escape and manhandled the Mustang 390 GT in Bullitt. As a result, McQueen’s legend still burns bright. His ’76 911 Turbo recently sold for £1.25m – £1.18m more than if he hadn’t held the V5.

Friend of TopGear and perpetually smiley, Ricciardo might have lost out to Hamilton in the 2015 F1 world championship, but he’s got the silverware that matters – smashing Lewis’s TopGear lap record in the Suzuki Liana earlier this year. If there’s a more amicable and talented driver out there, we’ve yet to meet him.

Nicknames don’t come any more conclusive than “The King”. Over a 34-year career, Petty dominated NASCAR with over 200 victories and 700 top 10 finishes – records unlikely ever to be toppled. The face of American motorsport and a man of the people, he is known to stick around for hours on end signing autographs for his legions of fans.