Tom Hiddleston Spent His First Big Paycheck On a Peugeot 106 He Tragically Lost
It’s no surprise to hear that one of the most common purchases for movie stars after they get that first paycheck is a new car. For Tom Hiddleston, that rite of passage wasn’t missed. The Avengers: Endgame star has a net worth over $20 million now, but things were a little different for the actor when he was first starting out.
Hiddleston spent his first big paycheck on a Peugeot 106 1.1 after he starred in the HBO BBC film, Conspiracy, in 2001. The budget-friendly and low-maintenance sedan was a worthy sidekick to Hiddleston for 10 years, but it met an early demise when Hiddleston left it in the U.K. to shoot Thor in 2011. How exactly did that happen? Let’s take a look.
Tom Hiddleston’s career has been booming
The 39-year-old English actor is best known for his role as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First appearing in Thor in 2011, Loki has since stuck around as a part of six MCU movies since. Hiddleston will also have the starring role in the upcoming Disney+ television series Loki, airing sometime in 2021.
But before the MCU took everyone, including Hiddleston, by storm, Hiddleston found his niche in the theater. Starring in a number of West End productions in London, Hiddleston was on stage each night beside the likes of Ewan McGregor and Kenneth Branagh. He did voiceover work for the BBC as well as narrations for audiobooks. He has a number of British TV credits from before his time in Marvel’s The Avengers as well. But what we all know and love him as will always be Loki.
Tom Hiddleston’s first big purchase met a sad end
In 2001, Tom Hiddleston exchanged his first big paycheck as an actor for a Peugeot 106 1.1. This little car is a French staple. The three-door hatchback had a 1.1-liter engine getting only 60 horsepower. Classified as a “supermini,” the Peugeot 106 takes 14.6 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph. Definitely not your usual celebrity-worthy car, but Hiddleston had a ways to go before becoming a real celebrity.
Hiddleston told Bustle in 2016 that he had the Peugeot 106 1.1 for 10 years and that he drove it everywhere he went, including all around France and Spain. This was the car he drove to get to those early theater and TV gigs, and he enjoyed the practicality of it very much. The downside, however, came when the car met the end of the road. Hiddleston went on to say that the car ended up getting stolen.
“When I went to America for Thor I left it with my sister, whose boyfriend lived on Blackhorse Road [in north London]. I don’t think it lasted very long… [the car] was sadly stolen and has now been impounded because it was wrecked by some joy-riders in London.”
Where are some of Loki’s powers when you need them?
What is the MCU star driving now?
In the same interview with Bustle, Hiddleston revealed that he had recently picked up a partnership with Jaguar and has since been driving a Jaguar F-Type. When asked if he liked it more than the old Peugeot, Hiddleston said, “I used to think I wasn’t into that sort of thing until [the Jaguar] was in my possession… It’s huge fun to drive.”
Some people think that a Jaguar F-Type looks like the perfect car for a villain to drive, and it’s pretty much the type of car we’d all expect Loki to own. But compared to the Peugeot, which shows Hiddleston’s true roots, it’s comically different. And with the 2021 model starting out at $60,000, it’s easily a much more valuable investment. Let’s hope that it can last as long as his last car but will hopefully not have as depressing an endgame.
