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With T.I. and Jamal Crawford in the house, it was time to put Shaquille O’Neal on the hot seat. They questioned the host of The Big Podcast about when his size was more of a curse than an advantage. It escalated into a discussion of Shaq’s car-buying obsession. With a fleet of customized cars to fit his frame, O’Neal expressed buyer’s remorse over spending thousands to customize small sports cars like his Ferrari to fit him.

Terrell Owens holding Dude Wipes XL

I was the idiot that would buy the sports car knowing I can’t fit,” Shaq told his friends. He had to “stretch” the compact sports cars with customizations that went up to $200,000. “The Ferraris, I would have to cut the car in half, stretch it, and then do the body work.” An embarrassing situation with his customized Lamborghini, though converted him from sports cars to muscle cars.

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I’ve had a Lamborghini that I stretch… and I wasted money on it and then one day I was in my Lamborghini and a guy blew me out in the Hellcat.” He admitted he didn’t know much about cars but that incident turned him to the Dodge and saved him a lot of money in customizations.

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So I went to look at the Hellcat charger and I realized I could just move the seat back and fit. So I don’t do sports cars anymore.” Shaq gloated he now has about nine Hellcats in his fleet with minor customizations like moving the seat back a few inches for him to fit.

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One of Shaq’s go-to custom shops, Forbes Performance, customized about four Chargers in 2023 alone. One of his prized possessions, a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody, was all the rage last year.

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Shaquille O’Neal’s favorite muscle cars

The most noticeable additions to this one have nothing to do with Shaq’s 7’1″ frame. They’re eye-catching red LED daytime running lights, red undercarriage lights, an illuminated SRT badge, and red brake calipers. His Los Angeles Lakers number, #34, was imprinted on the body.

READ MORE: “Used To Bully Him…Kept Beating This Kid”: Shaquille O’Neal’s Warning Once Turned Into Life-Saving Saga

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He treated himself to another Hellcat on his 50th birthday in 2022. Deviating from the traditional Dodge model, the customizations had scissor doors. A silver and red wrap along with the words, ‘Diesel Dod Mafia‘ on the hood.

He also owns a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Convertible in black, which he called his favorite. And he once proclaimed on social media that particular one embarrassed Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Shaq keeps collecting his muscle cars like Pokemons. He better do it fast as Dodge is in the process of retiring most of its famous models.

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READ MORE: Charles Barkley Gets Humiliated by DJ Khaled on Live TV, Despite New Improved Golf Swing

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Caroline John

3,289 Articles

Caroline John is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports, specializing in league comparables. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and Communication and brings eight years of experience to the sports desk. Caroline made a mark in NBA media by covering the life of Know more

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Pragya Vashisth

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