Kurt Cobain did not like driving. He was actually scared of it, according to his biography. But he had to do it every once in a while. The frontman of the grunge band Nirvana had a family, he had places to be, so he just had to comply. He reportedly owned a single car currently known to have survived: a 1965 Dodge Dart.
The world stood still exactly 30 years ago at the news of Kurt Cobain passing away. He was the icon of a whole generation. He was only 27 when he committed suicide and had dealt with depression, unexplained stomach ailment, and substance abuse issues.
Three decades later, the legend lives on, and fan communities are not going to let it fade away. On forums today, his driving style is almost as much a conversation topic as "Smells Like Teen Spirit," for instance.
But Kurt Cobain was not really fond of driving. In fact, he totally disliked it. He was slow, hated driving at night – not that he loved at day – and drove as little as possible. He is known to have owned very few cars, and only one of them survived. It is a light blue Dodge Dart 170 four-door sedan that is labeled as the only known car still in existence to be owned and driven by Kurt Cobain.
He also reportedly drove a 1986 Volvo 244 that he eventually switched for a Lexus, which he eventually traded for another Volvo. He thought the Lexus was too nice and disliked it. Rumor has it that his then-wife Courtney Love insisted on getting the Lexus. But it seems that he did not own any of those.
Photo: Juliens Live
The Dodge Dart that belonged to Kurt Cobain is powered by a 225 cubic inch (3.7-liter) carbureted six-cylinder engine, which generates 145 horsepower. The engine is mated to a three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission. The musician's Dodge Dart was car number 73,082 built by the automaker that year.
Kurt Cobain's sister took good care of the rock star's car
By 1965, Dodge was offering seatbelts as standard equipment on the Dart sedan. Today, the car still rides on its original 13-inch steel wheels. The original Dart All Transistor AM radio and heater are still on board the almost six-decade-old model.
The bench seats have been upholstered in blue vinyl and cloth, and the floorboards have been replaced. The car sold in an auction in May 2022 for $375,000, even though the organizers of the event were hoping to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000. The sale included the Certificate of Title that proved the ownership of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain and the original license plates.
After Cobain's death on April 5, 1994, exactly 30 years ago, Courtney Love sold the car to his sister, Kim Cobain. Passionate about cars, Kim kept the Dodge for 28 years, and all of this time, she did whatever she could to keep it roadworthy, including annual maintenance work.
Photo: Juliens Live
In 2018, the Dodge was on display as part of the "Growing Up Kurt Kobain" exhibition at the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Ireland, and at The Museo de la Moda in Santiago, Chile, during the winter of that year. In 2022, Kim decided it would be better if she sold it.
Kurt Cobain also owned a Plymouth and a Ford, his sister says
Kim Cobain says that Kurt also owned a Plymouth Valiant and a Ford Falcon. But everyone lost track of them and the Dart remains the only car known in existence to be driven and owned by the rock star.
The vehicle was sold with a new water pump, gas tank, and heater. The radiator on which Kim worked herself alongside a mechanic, was also fixed. The Dodge received new tires in 2021. At the time of the sale, the odometer read 67,087 miles (177,966 kilometers).
According to the rock star's biography, "Heavier Than Heaven," written by Charles R. Cross and published in 2001, he paid $2,500 for the sky-blue Dodge Dart, which was almost 20 years old by the time it got into his possession.
Photo: Juliens Live
He was not much interested in cars and was very focused on safety, most of the time driving ten miles per hour under the speed limit, which became annoying to whoever was a passenger in his car.
His driving style prompted his band members to instantly label him: "You drive like a grandma!" Furthermore, they were terrified when it was his turn to drive. Not because he was not a safe driver. But because they knew they would turn up late wherever they had to be.
Despite driving slowly and safely, Kurt Cobain reportedly got a ticket for running a red light in 1989. In the singer's biography, Charles R. Cross wrote that the frontman of Nirvana was scared of driving.
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