The famous plane of Elvis Presley has been sold at auction after 40 years in the desert! 😱
Vehicles depreciate and rust from not being in use for a specific period and lose value forever. But this is not the case for Elvis Presley’s private plane. After lying in waste in a desert in Mexico for forty years, this private jet belonging to the king of Rock has become the center of attention again. Wondering how it happened? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with all you need to know.
The spectacular jet went up for auction in Florida on January 8th, which is Elvis's posthumous 88th birthday at the Mecum Kissimmee Collector car auction and was sold without hassle.
While the exterior has been damaged, the interior of the jet remained in perfect condition.
The singer’s ex-wife and the mother of his kid, Priscilla Presley—an American actress and co-founder of Elvis Presley Enterprises, was there to grace the occasion and spoke to the auctioneers about Elvis's undying love of collecting automobiles and planes.
The damaged 1962 Lockheed 1329 Jetstar was formerly used in transporting his prominent band to concerts and making appearances across the globe.
The auctioneers were anonymous as they made their bids through the telephone. The starting bid was low, costing $100,000 but gained momentum slowly as it attained its peak— a closing bid of $260,000.
Now, the once-deserted jet has a new owner, however, anonymous.
According to the statement released by the auction site, the deteriorated private jet was initially bought by the Love Me Tender singer for $840,000 in December 1976, less than a year before his demise in August 1977.
It's one of the several collections of airplanes that Elvis owned. Aside from Lockheed, he owned a custom Convair 880 christened the ‘Lisa Marie’ as well as a second Jetstar.
Little wonder Priscilla described his collection as his ‘joy.’
The auctioned private jet’s white and red cockpit and externals are dilapidated after exposure to the scorching sun in the desert for almost four decades.
However, the interior is still intact, radiating in its full glory and looking pristine. The passenger seats and settee are coated with lush velvet fabric, alongside great woodwork flooring, and magnificent wall finishing.
The auction site further stresses that the jet possesses a standard entertainment system, including a television set, an RCA VCR player, and an audio cassette player with headphone jacks attached to every seat.
The aircraft which can take nine people at once have an on-board lavatory and a kitchen area that possesses a microwave oven and beverage dispenser.
However, these components were not sold alongside the aircraft. But it was sold with a copy of the Aircraft Security Agreement document which was originally signed by Elvis, and the bill of sales documentation.
Before the private jet was recently auctioned, Jim Gagliardi, a businessman, was the previous owner. He bought it for $430,000 at a jet auction in 2017, according to Robb Report's findings.
Jim planned to turn the one-of-a-kind aircraft into a tourist attraction and center but never implemented his plan nor migrated it from Mexico.
The report stresses that he did not set his eye on the aircraft in the six years he owned it because the airplane needed to be taken apart before moving. But it never happened.
Consequently, another sale occurred two days before Austin Butler was awarded the title of Best Actor Golden Globe Award for his depiction of the hitmaker in Elvis, and a couple of days before Lisa Maria— whose name and that of Lockheed are the same, died at age 54 from cardiac arrest.
