The 10 Rarest Cars In Elvis Presley's Collection

Elvis Aaron Presley journeyed a long way from his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, on his stratospheric rise to superstardom. As the first real rock'n'roll star, Elvis holds a special place in history and he remains a beloved figure just as much today as he was during his life. With his immense fame came immense amounts of cash. With 45s flying off the shelf, plenty of radio play, and sold-out shows in the biggest of concert venues, the amount of money earned by Elvis gave him the ability to indulge himself in whatever luxury he wanted, and this included automobiles — many of them.

According to The Drive, Elvis was known for buying Cadillacs for people including his band members, bodyguards, and even complete strangers. He once bought a brand new Cadillac for a Bank Teller named Mennie L. Person as she admired his car outside of a Cadillac dealer. While admiring the car, much to her surprise, Elvis approached her and asked her how she liked it just before telling her she could walk into the showroom and pick out any car she wanted. Elvis also loved driving and he was said to sneak out of Graceland late at night, surprising locals who might run into him at gas stations in the area.

His collection, most of which is now housed at Graceland, is an eclectic mix that heavily favors Cadillac and Lincoln. Out of the many cars he owned, these are the 10 most rare.

Elvis Presley served a well-publicized stint in the U.S Army for two years ending in 1960. After boot camp at Fort Hood, he served his duties in Germany as part of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor, stationed in Friedberg. It was during this time that he picked up a BMW 507 roadster for use while stationed in the country.

BMW explains that the car had previously won hill-climb racing by Hans Stuck. After buying the car, he had the engine replaced with a lightweight 150-horsepower version, and later, after becoming flustered with women marking his chalk-white car with lipstick, he had it painted red. Upon returning to the States, he sold the car and it eventually ended up in storage for decades until being found and restored around 2014.

The 507 was extremely expensive in its day and did not sell in high numbers. Today, it is one of the most highly coveted of all BMW cars and is a valuable collector car. The Elvis BMW was painstakingly restored by BMW Classic and is a part of their collection today.

One of the famed "bubble" microcars from post-war Germany, the Messerschmitt is a three-wheeled car powered by a motorcycle engine and with a canopy like that of a fighter airplane. Messerschmitt was a long-time aircraft manufacturer and the car takes obvious cues from aviation from its fuselage-like styling and fenders resembling winglets poking out the sides. The Truth About Cars says that it is not known how he acquired it, but that he did keep it at his Memphis mansion and drove it on occasion.

After owning the car for a couple of years, Elvis discovered that Bernard Lansky, the man who had provided him with much of his stage wardrobe, expressed an interest in the diminutive little runabout. Elvis, well accustomed to offering automobiles to others, arranged an exchange of the car for some time to shop in Lanksy's clothing store to find some new duds. Lansky still owns the car and has declined multiple offers to sell it.

Elvis' affinity for Cadillacs is well known. He bought dozens of them for himself and others over the years. That's why the inclusion of a Mercedes-Benz 600 is a bit of an anomaly in the collection. However, for someone of vast wealth and power, the 600 is a logical choice. They were cars owned by wealthy entertainers and businessmen, but also notoriously owned by the likes of Idi Amin Dada, Enver Hoxha, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Papa Doc Duvalier, Saddam Hussein, Chairman Mao, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, and Kim Jong Il. It's not exactly the kind of club one wants to be in (via GQ).

The car is a mechanical masterpiece of 1960s engineering. A high-pressure hydraulic system operates the suspension, brake, power windows, power trunk, and a power sunroof. It has a 300-horsepower V8 and is built on a famously rock-solid chassis. It is a car that expresses wealth and power in an elegant, yet understated fashion. Of course, Elvis gave his away (via The Drive).

In 1971, if one wanted to spend the most amount of money possible on a new car, one would buy a Stutz Blackhawk. The Stutz is an unusual car with an interesting story. Born as a revival of a storied pre-war American auto manufacturer, the new Stutz was built starting with a Pontiac Grand Prix, shipping it to Italy and having a bespoke, hand-built body mounted to the frame. It was an exercise in opulent excess. The interior was covered in fine leather, real wood, gold plating, and the best gauges and switchgear. No expense was spared in building it, except for the engine and chassis, which were very much middle of the road. But it was not built to technical specs; it was built for luxury (via Driving.ca).

The Stutz was the perfect car for Elvis, especially at the time. He had amassed an absolute fortune by the early 1970s and there was no way he could possibly spend it all. The first Stutz to be built went to Elvis and it was one of three he eventually owned (via Graceland). The first one cost him $26,500 at a time when a Rolls Royce or Lamborghini Miura barely topped $20,000.

Elvis may have loved his Cadillacs and his Stutz, but he also liked to drive. Generally speaking, those with an affinity for driving enjoy driving fast. Elvis was no exception and he had a few sports cars, including the Dino 308 GT4, and the car represents many firsts for Ferrari, according to the manufacturer. They were originally branded only as Dino, named for Enzo Ferrari's deceased son, but changed to a Ferrari-branded car later on in production. However, the Dinos represented Ferrari's first V8 production car as well as the first mid-engined four-seater on the market, though it is really a 2+2 as the back seats are tiny.

Not much information is available specifically about Elvis's Ferrari, but that does not prevent the company from mentioning his ownership on its website. Unverified rumors on Elvis forums say that not only did he drive his Ferrari from Los Angeles to Memphis, but that he drove over its limit of 150 mph. While it may not be true, the thought of Elvis speeding across the desert in an exotic Italian sports car is a compelling tale.

Economies of the post-war era were booming and people had plenty of money to spend on luxury goods. Not wanting to let an opportunity get away, automakers sought to offer ultra-high-end products to fill the upper-class niche. Ford went after this segment with Continental, a luxury division set apart from Lincoln, catering to the uber-wealthy driver. At $10,000, the Continental Mark II sat on top of the pricing scale of its time. The car was bought by famous actors, financiers, and not much of anyone else. But one was bought by Elvis with some of his earliest earnings after hitting the scene in 1956.

While Elvis owned dozens of cars, he gave away most of them after only a year or two. The exception to the rule is his white 1956 Continental Mark II, which he kept from the time it was new until a year before his death, the longest tenure of any car in his collection. He put more miles on it than any other car and was often photographed in the car with other celebrities, such as girlfriend and actress Natalie Wood, according to the book Graceland: The Living Legend of Elvis Presley. The car today remains in immaculate condition and was featured at the 2022 New York Auto Show, which had been on a 2-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On its own, a 1974 Cadillac Deville would not be an extremely rare or expensive car, even though values on these are rising. Adding Elvis ownership will increase the value of the car, but only due to the celebrity connection. However, what does make this particular vehicle rare is that Cadillac did not make station wagons at the time. To get a Caddilac wagon, Elvis had to have it custom built to order, making it a one-of-one vehicle and exceedingly rare.

Coachbuilders had been building wagon versions of Cadillacs for many years, so Elvis's model was not exactly the only one. It was the only one built to his specific specs and still classified as extremely rare. The car is currently in the collection of the Volo Museum in Volo, Illinois. According to the museum, Elvis ordered the car new in 1974, and when he came to pick up the car, he bought four other brand-new Cadillacs at the same time, likely to be given away as gifts. The museum claims that the car was used by Elvis to haul his luggage and gear from Graceland to the airport and had been forgotten about for many years. Not a lot of information existed about it, but the car in their collection came with detailed documentation to prove its provenance.

While Elvis liked to drive his fast, exotic Ferrari, his yellow Pantera was the more powerful and faster car due to its powerful mid-mounted Ford V8. The Pantera was built by Alejandro De Tomaso in Italy and sold in the U.S. through Lincoln-Mercury dealers. The cars are stunning Italian supercars, but their quality and reliability were less super. Car and Driver in 1971 noted that in this case, hand-crafted does not necessarily mean high quality. Hagerty warns prospective buyers that despite its stunning good looks and impressive power output, the cars need a lot of attention for any long-term viability.

All that aside, Elvis' Pantera is a stunning machine that is as loud as Elvis himself. The story of his Pantera is also as unique and colorful as its owner. Jalopnik, among other publications, reported that Elvis had bought this car used for his girlfriend, Linda Thompson. At some point while at home at Graceland, the two got into an argument. Frustrated with the situation, Elvis left and got into the Pantera intending to peel out in a tire smoke fit of rage. However, his plan went awry when the Pantera, right on cue, failed to start. Presley, already angered from the existing conflict, turned his rage toward the car and pulled out his pistol, and shot the Pantera three times, striking the floor pan and steering wheel. The car still bears the bullet holes today as it sits in the Petersen Museum, according to Motorious.

Elvis bought dozens of Cadillacs over the years but gave away most of them as gifts. He did the same thing with Lincolns, but probably drove and owned more Lincolns for longer periods starting with his first car, a 1952 Lincoln Zephyr given to him by his father. He was known to often buy Lincolns brand new, even while on tour, from the dealerships, but also special ordered some. One such special order was a 1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V Limousine that was coach built into a stretched car and loaded up with every option, including a power privacy glass and dual air conditioning units for the front and rear compartments.

The 1960 Continental Mark V is not necessarily a rare car as it sold fairly well and numbers are in line with other American luxury cars of the period. However, custom-made stretch limousines were not mass-produced and, due to the nature of the coach-built construction, most are uniquely designed and equipped. Classic.com's charts show that production versions of the Mark V in very good condition can be had in the range of $20-50,000 with the limousines ranging out at the top of the scale. While fewer limousines exist, auction results for them are no more than the finest convertibles. Elvis's limo last sold in 2009 for $121,000, so it's obvious strong star power leads to a strong auction result.

For someone with the immense wealth of Elvis Presley, buying luxury cars is something anyone would assume he would do. He had a well-known fondness for Cadillacs and Lincolns, but, just the present, the ultimate show of wealth was a Rolls Royce and Elvis owned a few. One of them is a 1963 Rolls Royce Phantom V. According to classic car seller Hyman, ltd., only 832 were produced. Elvis's Phantom V was bodied by James Young, one of three coachbuilders to complete these cars, and was outfitted with the most luxurious interior as well as a Blaupunkt Koln radio, microphone, and air conditioning. The rear of the car features an armrest with a writing pad, mirror, and clothing brush while a wood cabinet was also installed offering crystal glasses and decanter, just like a luxury car should.

The limited production along with the high-class pedigree makes this car exclusive and highly valuable. Nicely kept examples are estimated to be worth around $200-300,000, but Bonham's reported that Elvis's car sold most recently in 2014 for $396,000. As Rolls Royce motorcars have always been a vehicle of choice for royalty, it is a fitting choice of car for the King of Rock'n'Roll.