A lot of people wanted this celebrity-owned car…
Imagine spending $420,000 to sit in the same 1987 Ferrari Testarossa as Elton John. Someone did just that recently as the musician’s old sports car crossed the auction block. You might think that’s a crazy figure to pay for any Testarossa, a Ferrari some have looked down on rather harshly. Or you might think that’s a bit much to shell out for anything which has been sat in by Elton John – the opinions on this one probably run the spectrum.
Find out the details of a mysterious nighttime Camaro fire in Washington, D.C. here.
Of course, the Ferrari was auctioned off down in Australia by auction house Shannons. That means the $420,000 figure is in AUD and not USD, which converting that would make the top bid somewhere around $301,000.
Shannons was anticipating the car would sell for $300,000 to $350,000 AUD, so it far exceeded expectations. The only explanation for the bidding bonanza on the Ferrari was the fact Elton John owned it for an extended period. Many times celebrity-owned cars sell for more on the open market as people who are big fans seem willing to pay large sums to own something which once was used by their idol. A lot of people were watching this auction, with the lot listing recording 9,440 views.
Elton John didn’t actually buy the Ferrari Testarossa. Instead, it was gifted to him by MCA Records in 1987 for the musician’s birthday. He held onto the Italian sports car until 2001 when he sold it to a Ferrari dealer in the UK. At the time the odometer read only 7,434 miles.
Sometime around 2010 the Testarossa was shipped to Australia, but the auction house didn’t disclose who purchased it. The Ferrari stayed in Sidney until it was purchased by the next owner in 2014. At that time the mileage read 10,733.
