A Maserati Quattroporte formerly owned by Sir Elton John is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £40,000 in an online auction. That’s a rather broad price range and a punchy upper estimate.
A case of the auctioneers hedging their bets? The pre-sale estimate is based on the provenance of celebrity ownership and the market’s willingness to pay extra for the link to Sir Elton John. If the current Auto Trader listings are to be believed, a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte is worth between £10,000 and £15,000.
Armed with a budget of £40,000, you could drive away in a Quattroporte that’s only just out of warranty. But you’d just have to sacrifice the Sir Elton John connection.
The love of cars
The rock star’s love of cars is well documented. His old 1997 Aston Martin V8 Vantage V550 sold at auction in March 2018, while his Ferrari Daytona went under the hammer in 2017 and 2019.
In 2001, 19 cars from Sir Elton John’s collection were sold at auction, all of them making more than the pre-auction estimates. The list included a Jaguar XJ220 (sold for £234,740), Rolls-Royce Phantom VI (£223,750) and Bentley S1 Continental Fastback (£196,250).
The Maserati Quattroporte (MV139) was registered in 2005, two years after its debut at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. Sir Elton John added a number of extras, including a rear DVD player, games input, two headphones, remote control and a six-CD changer.
‘Dear Mr John’
To provide evidence of the celebrity ownership, the car comes with an official Maserati welcome letter addressed to ‘Mr John’ and a copy of the original V5 registration certificate. A man of impeccable taste, Sir Elton John specced his Quattroporte in Verdi Deep Emerald Green metallic flake finish and Biscuit leather.
Executive GT trim means it comes with Alcantara interior roof lining; ventilated, adaptive and massaging rear seats; rear air conditioning controls, veneered retractable rear tables and curtain shades on the rear windows.
Under the bonnet you’ll find a 4.2-litre V8 engine with around 29,000 miles on the clock. The vendor bought the car in 2006, at which point it had covered just 1,000 miles.
‘A very special opportunity’
Tristan Judge, director of The Market, said: “Sir Elton John is a national treasure and a global superstar, who has impeccable taste when it comes to buying cars. Indeed, the car is in excellent condition and has evidentially been treated like a celebrity itself over the years.”
“This is a very special opportunity for worlds to collide for enthusiasts of both music and collectible cars, grabbing themselves a genuine piece of memorabilia. The vehicle’s new owner will be able to enjoy the kind of luxury drive you can expect from a top-of-the-range Italian beauty, as well as revel in the history this car has had in the hands of a music icon.”
The auction will start on 18 February and end on 25 February. We’re patting ourselves on the back for resisting the temptation to litter this story with Sir Elton John song references.
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