Metallica’s James Hetfield Has An Incredibly Cool Custom Car Collection

Ride the Lightning with Hetfield’s craziest hot rods.

It will be a clash of cultures when tatted-up hot rod enthusiast James Hetfield, the lead singer of Metallica, steps onto the cultured lawn of The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, for the annual classic car event in Carmel, Calif. 

The metal god’s custom-bodied ’34 Packard, dubbed “Aquarius,” will highlight the show, which typically features high-end antiquities, in particular rare European rides.

Hetfield is well known for his love of classic American hot rods, and can be seen in the 2004 Metallica documentary Some Kind Of Monster talking with the California Highway Patrol about the dubious legality of one of his rat rods.

Hetfield visibly lives at that intersection of music, pin-up girls, hot rods and old-school tats commonly associated with the rockabilly ethos, rather than the thrash metal scene that birthed his beloved Bay Area supergroup. 

But fortunately no one enforces these outdated conventions. 

Looking at the six cars from his collection featured here, one suspects Hetfield may favor women in tight maxi-dresses, judging from the clinging, flowing lines of his classic rides. 

But we’re pretty sure he’s got plenty more of these beauties in his garage. Trust us. For a comprehensive roster of Hetfield’s hottest rides, check out the Pinterest page here.