Celebrity provenance can add value to any collector car, provided the celebrity is worth celebrating. If the celebrity is someone with a known and/or interesting car history, that's definitely a value-add to the provenance; no one is going to pay extra to own Joan Rivers' old Lexus, for instance. Car-centric celebrity ownership from a now-deceased celebrity increases the collectibility factor again. Today's example checks all of these boxes (and more). Also, did we mention its a W100???
Offered for Premium reserve sale over on Bring A Trailer, this 1969 Mercedes-Benz 600 is the epitome of a cool and collectible celebrity car. Purchased new and personally used by the King himself at Graceland, the car was gifted by Elvis to his longtime friend Jimmy Velvet where it resided in a museum for many years.
After subsequent ownership changes and a recent refresh, this car is now ready for a new kingly owner... and we have no doubt the price will require a kingly sum.
Very little needs to be said about the W100 that hasn't already been written, so in addition to all of the wonder and beauty that one of these cars already provides, it's the little Elvis-related touches that make it truly interesting from a collector's standpoint.
For example, each door is accented by a “TCB” lightning-bolt monogram, which represents the “Taking Care of Business” mantra adopted by Presley late in his life. Also, custom Tennessee “ELVIS” license plates were ordered by the seller and are mounted front and rear.
Presley is believed to have used the car to attend a 1971 awards ceremony at the Memphis Memorial Auditorium to accept an award from the US Junior Chamber of Commerce; photos of Presley attending the event with the car are included with the sale.
Whatever your opinion on Elvis and his music, there's no doubt he's a massive figure in Americana and his legendary automotive purchasing habits (although typically cadillac-centric) make this Mercedes an interesting collector acquisition with or without the King's name attached. One thing is for sure: the value of both the M100 platform and everything Elvis-related are sure to maintain value for years to come, so there's little to be wary of here for the investment-minded buyer.
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