Shaquille O’Neal shares what he has to do to fit into Ferarris and Lamborghinis
- Shaquille O’Neal used his 7’1″ frame to be an unstoppable basketball player
- A new advert for Pepsi sees him joke about wishing he was smaller
- He says, in reality, the only reason he wishes he could shave a few inches off his height is to fit into a sports car
Published on Nov 24, 2023 at 5:42 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 28, 2023 at 2:46 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Adam Gray
Shaquille O’Neal used his 7’1″ frame to be an unstoppable force on the court during his Hall of Fame career.
However, he recently revealed in an interview that he would want to be smaller for just one reason.
And it’s not being able to buy clothes off the rack or legroom on a plane (on a private jet that isn’t an issue).
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But it’s to be able to drive a sports car.
“They’ve got these Lamborghinis and Ferraris … (and) I used to have to buy two, shrimp them up, spend a crazy amount of money and take the convertible part off to make myself fit,” Shaquille O’Neal said to People.
“But that’s the only time I’ve wished I was smaller, so I can get into some of these expensive sports cars.
“Other than that, I’ve never had that thought process.”
He has a commercial for Pepsi’s new mini cans to the tune of Skee-Lo’s 1995 hit I Wish I Was A Little Bit Taller.
In the parody remix, replacing the word ‘taller’ with ‘smaller’ he lists the reasons that he wishes he could shave a few inches off his height.
Although the 51 year old has been unable to drive a sports car due to his height, his car collection is impressive.
Shaquille O’Neal revealed he had to fork out an exorbitant amount of cash to modify his Lamborghini Gallardo.
First, he bought not one but two Lamborghini Gallardos.
The first one was new, and the second one was a pre-owned one.
He then turned to Gaffoglio, a custom coachbuilder from Argentina, and asked them to make him an extra-long-wheelbase Gallardo.
It cost him $600,000.
But the iconic sportsman is also an academic – and wanted to prove it.
He noticed he was being disregarded in business meetings so signed up to get his MBA, a Master in Business Administration.
He also paid for 15 of his friends to gain the same qualification.
Not content with the MBA, he went on to earn his Doctorate in Education.
That’s Dr. Shaquille O’Neal Ed.D. to you.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
