Mike Myers, along with Matthew Sweet, known for his work in the alternative rock scene, and Susanna Hoffs, who performed with The Bangles, formed Ming Tea, a retro British comedy band, after a bit on “Saturday Night Live.” This band celebrated the swingin’ ’60s of British pop culture, with each member taking on pseudonyms and 1960s personas. Myers created Austin Powers as his own alter ego, a character that his then-wife encouraged him to write into a movie. With this, he wrote “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” which was directed by Jay Roach, Hoffs’ husband, who also went on to direct the subsequent superspy spoof films “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember.” The Austin Powers franchise became exceedingly popular, spoofing various spy thrillers and comedies, most notably, of course, the James Bond 007 establishment. In fact, Daniel Craig, who served five times as 007 between 2006 and 2021, said in an interview about how much darker and more serious his era of James Bond had to become because of Mike Myers’ work as Austin Powers. However, like any good spy, Powers rolled around in a truly bespoke car, and being a British superspy, it had to be outlandishly British. So, his ride of choice was a 1967 Jaguar E-Type roadster—an English car if there ever was one. But this wasn’t enough for Powers, so to really exhibit his British pride, the Jag was painted as if a British flag were draped over the entire length of the car. Reflecting Powers’ swingin’ lifestyle, the car became known as the Shaguar. The production commissioned Cinema Vehicle Services to prepare and maintain the car for all three films. Driven by Myers and various leading ladies, the Shaguar was also used in the Madonna music video for “Beautiful Stranger,” which starred Myers driving the Shaguar. Held as part of a private collection since the film series ended, the Shaguar was occasionally loaned out to Jaguar Land Rover corporate for company events. In the mid-2000s, Jaguar Land Rover performed a lot of the car’s restoration and recently performed a comprehensive mechanical restoration. Complete with authentication letters from Josh Hancock, the picture car coordinator, and Ray Claridge, the owner of Cinema Vehicle Services, this is an excellent opportunity to expand on Austin Powers’ legacy and snap up a piece of Hollywood history. Grab some Ming Tea and drink up.
