Prominent previous owners ensure record prices at vehicle auctions

If you want to put a well-preserved Volvo 262 C Bertone Coupé in your garage today, you have to be patient in your search for around 25,000 francs. It gets much more expensive when the previous owner is one of the greatest and most influential musicians of the past decades and has secured icon status with songs like “Space Oddity” or “Modern Love”. So the hammer fell in Gstaad and with it the bid for the chic black Sweden from the previous possession of David Bowie only at 190,000 francs. But on board: 155 hp from a 2.8 liter V6 engine with “only” 53,000 kilometers on the clock, automatic transmission, air conditioning, heated seats and a Blaupunkt audio system, which was probably the first to play the studio recordings of “Black Star” .

In 2006, the then 21-year-old Benjamin Halbe from Olpe, North Rhine-Westphalia, bought a metallic gray VW Golf IV – used for 9500 euros. When handing over the keys, the person doing community service was amazed when he noticed the only previous owner in the vehicle registration document: The four-man Golf, built in 1999, carried “Josef Cardinal Ratzinger” after leaving the showroom or shortly afterwards: “Pope Benedict XVI”. After the papal election, Halbe sensed a windfall and advertised the 115 hp compact car on eBay classifieds. With success: An American online casino auctioned the 2.0 liter Golf for 188,984 euros.

The sale of Elton John’s Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer shows that prominent names in vehicle history do not always drive up the sales price immeasurably. The Bonhams auction house in Goodwood valued the 12-cylinder mid-engined sports car at between 353,000 and 477,000 euros. In the end, however, the 365 GT4 was worth 261,000 euros to those bidding. A bargain for the well-heeled, when you consider that the 290 km / h rocket from the “Rocket Man” received a total overhaul in 2012 and, according to Bonham, was one of the “best currently available” Berlinetta Boxers – especially since only 400 were built anyway.

In May 1981, Prince Charles gave Lady Di a ring with 14 diamonds, which enclose a Ceylon sapphire – and a Ford Escort. After her death, the latter has long been in the possession of a woman who has kept its origins a secret before the compact car was auctioned off in June of this year. The auction house forecast a price between just under 35,000 and 46,000 euros for the escort. The assessment is based on the sale of Diana’s Audi convertible for 68,000 euros in the previous year. On the day before the 60th birthday of the “Queen of Hearts”, the hammer for the 1.6 liter escort falls at 54,760 euros. Means: The Lady-Di-Bonus increases the value tenfold compared to comparable offers in the non-aristocratic second-hand market.

With the 507, BMW built a timeless classic in 1956 and probably their most beautiful model ever. Only 252 units left the factory in Munich, which is why the Roadster is one of the most sought-after classic cars today. Well-maintained copies cost two million francs – unless John Surtees was behind the white four-spoke steering wheel. The British racing driver is to date the only world champion on two and four wheels – and will remain so. After seven motorcycle titles, four of them in the premier class over 500 cc, he secured the most coveted trophy in automobile sport in the final run in Mexico City and made the double perfect. It’s as if Roger Federer had won a major golf tournament in addition to his 20 Grand Slam titles – a real madness. The price that the 165 hp eight-cylinder achieved at its auction in 2018 is also verging on madness: a fan of Surtee’s BMW 507 cost 4.3 million euros.

Jay Kay, the front man of the rock band Jamiroquai, is probably the biggest car fanatic among his professional colleagues. How many cars the singer really owns is unclear, since the number varies constantly, but it should be around 50 that he parks on his 300,000 square meter property near London. Every now and then the jazz-funk singer parted ways with some of his “dreams on four wheels”. In 2018 he offered eight cars through Silverstone Auctions. Including a strictly limited BMW M3, with which the Munich-based company celebrated victory in the European Touring Car Championship in 1988. In the more than ten years in Jay Kay’s private collection, the E30 only covered 29,000 kilometers before it was auctioned for 96,000 euros

Muhammad Ali was an avowed Rolls Royce fan and over the years he put several models of the British luxury brand in his garage, including a Silver Shadow. With the purchase of the silver convertible, the three-time heavyweight world champion celebrated regaining his boxing license in 1970. This was withdrawn from him due to the refusal to enter the Vietnam War. After six years, “The Greatest” parted ways with his RR, whereupon the noble body found a new owner in the Netherlands. He wanted to keep the vehicle in its original condition as far as possible. The right decision: At the Bonhams auction, Alis Rolls Royce achieved the proud price of 132,250 euros – four times what the model would otherwise cost in good condition.

Music and car fans were able to secure a piece of pop history in the form of a Cadillac Estate Wagon for almost half the price in 2018: Elvis Presley’s last car at the Classic Expo Salzburg achieved just 69,000 euros. The owners had expected at least a six-figure amount. The “low” price is probably due to the Cadillac’s rather sloppy appearance at first glance. Only on closer inspection does the exclusivity become apparent: the US automaker converted just two of the deVille, which is otherwise only available as a sedan, into an extra-long station wagon. One for Dean Martin and one for the “King of Rock’n’Roll”, who gave it to his manager without further ado. The interior was convincing in its time with air conditioning, leather upholstery, hydraulic seats and other electronic gadgets – apart from the real gold elements in the cockpit. However, the manager was not granted many kilometers: Presley borrowed the car so often that he gave his gift back.

Keith Richards could have used a spacious station wagon during the Rolling Stones’ European tours in the 1970s. Because: The guitarist and singer suffered from fear of flying. Instead of a lot of space, Richards opted for a lot of horsepower. In 1972 he bought a Ferrari 264 GT and toured the Old World with it. Most of the 40,000 kilometers on the V6’s speedometer come from the English musician himself. Although the rocker is known for his wild driving style and has already wrapped a Bentley Flying Spur around a tree, the Ferrari stayed in a Japanese one until it was sold in 1986 Private collection undamaged. In 2018 the touring vehicle was offered again and achieved a price of 498,000 euros.

If we think of a Porsche in the film “Le Mans”, we all have the blue-orange 917 with the number 20 in mind – but Steve McQueen’s slate-gray 911 is just as unforgettable. The actor drove one of these not only on the film set, but also privately – with identical equipment. Means: tinted windows, sports exhaust, fog lights, Blaupunkt radio and air conditioning. In August the most famous 911 came under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s. The Porsche achieved a maximum bid of 950,000 euros – ten times the value without a celebrity bonus.