I’m on the tall side at a 99.9th-percentile 6-foot-8-inches tall, and I have a difficult time fitting comfortably into some cars, planes, clothes, buses and homes, so I can’t imagine the challenges faced by someone like Shaquille O’Neal who stands significantly taller than me at 7-foot-1. I’ve driven a lot of different cars, and I know that mid-engine cars pose a particularly difficult challenge to tall folks since there’s an engine behind the seats that tends to limit rearward seat travel. When you’re as successful as Shaq, though, there are ways to circumvent this minor hiccup, like when he bought two Lamborghini Gallardos and had them spliced together to create a custom extended-wheelbase Gallardo.
Contrary to the title of his book Shaq Uncut: My Story, Shaq shares how he had to cut up two Gallardos to create his custom long-wheelbase car so he could fit inside. Considering Shaq made about $21 million in 2008, dropping about $600,000 on the two Gallardos needed to create his extended Franken-Gallardo wasn’t that significant of an expense. In his book, Shaq said:
The reason it cost so much was I bought a brand-new Lamborghini and then I bought an old, beat-up Lamborghini, and in order for me to fit into it, they had to chop them both in half and then superglue it together.
Legend has it that Shaq retired the custom Gallardo after he spun the car on a drive to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and was too intimidated by the car to drive it again. He sold it to another tall NBA player, Amar’e Stoudemire, who stands at 6-foot-10 and likely appreciated Shaq’s decision to stretch the Gallardo’s wheelbase for additional legroom. The current whereabouts of the one-of-one Gallardo EWB can’t be confirmed, but as a tall person I really hope someone tall is enjoying it.
