Naturally, Elvis Presley traveled by private jet. He and his father, Vernon Presley, owned a 1962 Lockheed Jetstar, which The King designed himself (woodwork, red velvet seats and shag carpet feature prominently). Now, the aircraft is going to be auctioned off publicly—will you be the one to buy it?
The jet has been sitting on a tarmac in Roswell, New Mexico, for almost 40 years. It won’t be spiffed up at all before the public auction, so whoever buys it will be in for some serious upkeep. If you’re into mod, you might want to keep the paint job.
Currently, the plane does not have any engines, so you (obviously) can’t fly it until some major mechanical work is done. So while you won’t have bought a working plane, you WILL receive the original paperwork, signed by Elvis himself, that details all the plans for customizing that red-velvety interior.
On top of that, nothing about the plane—the external painting, detailing and interior—has been touched or altered since The King passed away in 1977.
That means if you’re the lucky buyer, you can touch all the things that Elvis touched, which by the transitive property means you two have touched (maybe).
Elvis also owned two other jets which are both currently on display at the Elvis Presley Museum in Tennessee. He also clearly had a flair for splashy rides, since he owned both a solid gold Cadillac and a powder blue speedboat to boot.
The plane will be auctioned off on May 27. It is expected to sell for between $2 and $3.5 million which, honestly, doesn’t seem like that much for a private jet that Elvis Presley himself owned. Then again, it doesn’t fly, so that could have something to do with it. The current bid is already at $401,000, so we’ll have to see what happens. Will it join its brothers in the museum, or will someone take it to the skies?
“This jet has the potential of being restored, and placed on exhibit for the world to come see. It could potentially earn its new owner millions of dollars in exhibit, or entry fees as an attraction,” according to the auction website.
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An aspiring food and health writer, native Chicagoan, and nut butter enthusiast. Jessica is also the creator of BiteMeBlog, but don't call her a foodie More.
