If you’ve ever been to Graceland and thought to yourself, “Hey, those private planes they have on display look pretty neat. It sure would be great if I could own one,” we have great news. The Drive reports Mecum will be auctioning off one of Elvis Presley’s old planes in January. A plane that no one seems to want.
As you can tell from the photo, whoever wins the auction won’t be flying this baby home. The 1962 Lockheed 1329 JetStar is in terrible condition and needs a lot of work. According to the auction house, Elvis bought it in 1976 but quickly sold it the following year. It was then moved to Roswell, New Mexico, where it still sits today.
According to the listing, the plane “will require disassembly to be shipped,” but the good news for the winning bidder is, “coordinating assistance is available.” That said, you’re on your own when it comes to getting the Elvis Jet back in the air, as the listing also says, “the P&W engines and many cockpit components have been removed and no engines or replacement parts will be included with the sale of Elvis’ jet.”
The cabin, on the other hand, is in much better condition than the cockpit and is equipped with all sorts of mid-70s luxury features, including:
- Custom interior upholstery featuring red velvet and gold-finish hardware
- Onboard Kenmore microwave
- Onboard television with RCA VCR player
- Onboard cassette player
- Wood cabin paneling and trim including window shades
- Six passenger chairs with swivel and recline functionality
- Onboard lavatory with vanity
- Interior cabin seating for up to nine occupants
That’s right. The plane doesn’t just have a microwave and VCR. It has a Kenmore microwave and an RCA VCR. If that’s not luxury, we don’t know what is.
Considering the terrible mechanical condition of the plane, it’s hard to make a guess on pricing. But when it was new, Elvis paid $US840,000 ($1,166,088) for it, which works out to about $US4.4 ($6) million in today’s money.