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Elvis Presley's jet sells for $260,000 after sitting in the desert for 40 years
The Lockheed has been parked in the desert for 40 years, at Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico
January 10, 2023 8:30am
Updated: January 10, 2023 9:15am
Elvis Presley’s private jet, which sat in the desert for over 40 years, was sold at an auction in Florida for $260,000 last week.
The 1962 Lockheed 1329 JetSar was added to the Mecum Kissimmee Collector Car auction in Florida, which took place on January 8, what would have been Elvis’ 88th birthday.
The bidding started at $100,000. Not long after it jumped to $150,000 and then settled at around $200,000. After an intense round of bidding, the King of Rock’s airplane was sold for $260,000 to a bidder on the telephone.
“Elvis loved planes and this was one of them. This is my first auction and I’m excited to be here. Today would be Elvis’ 88th birthday,” Elvis’ former wife Priscilla Presley told the auction.
Despite being sold at the auction, the plane was not on hand for viewing. Instead, the Lockheed has been parked in the desert for 40 years, at Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico.
The plane was bought at an auction in 2017 by businessman Jim Gagliardi of Madera, California for $430,000. Gagliardi originally planned to move the plane to his dealership in California.
“I was going to have it as kind of an advertisement, have people go in it and look at it,” he told the Roswell Daily Record.
However, he never followed through with his plan and didn’t even see the plane firsthand in the six years he owned it. The plane is in no flying condition after its four engines and instruments were removed several years ago, making it hard and costly to transport.
Elvis bought the red and silver plane in 1976 for $840,000—about $4.4 million today. The Lockheed has enough room for nine passengers and three crew members. It can travel up to a speed of 565 for about 2,500 miles.
On what would have been Elvis Presley's 88th birthday, his Lockheed 1329 JetStar soldat an auction for $260,000.
— GlobalAir.com (@GlobalAir) January 9, 2023
Read about the rock 'n' roll legend's plane and see pictures of the lavish interior...
https://t.co/7TPSKlIXlr#ElvisPresley #Elvistheking #jetstar pic.twitter.com/kmvT6S5OFu
