Automobile auctions are still a circus to us, where people with more money than brains drive up the price of cars faster than an annoyed Saudi sheik will drive up the price of a barrel of oil. But the Julien’s Auctions “Holywood Legends” event, which takes place June 26-27, 2015, has a few vehicles worth speculating about. Keeping with the theme of the auction, these cars are either attached to a celebrity in some way or are stars themselves, having appeared on-screen.
We will get the celebrity-owned pieces out of the way first: Bruce Willis is selling a 2005 Ducati Multistrada DS1000, Will Smith is selling a 1998 Bentley Continental T-coupe for the Make-A-Wish charity, Esther Williams’ Rolls Royce Silver Shadow is up for grabs, along with Marlon Brando’s 1970 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra Glide that appeared in “The Wild One” and Nicolas Cage’s 1999 Confederate Hellcat that appeared in the “Gone in 60 Seconds” reboot.
Now, for the four cars that will appear:
“Hell’s Chariot”, 1949 Mercury Convertible
From the movie “Grease” comes Craterface’s hot-rod Mercury, complete with razor’d wheel covers and classic flame job. Built by Customs By Eddie Paul, this is the car in the L.A. River race scene.
K.I.T.T, 1982 Pontiac Firebird
It won’t talk to you, and it won’t provide you with a messy cheeseburger, but this is one of, if not the only remaining modified Firebirds from Knight Rider. Included are documents that explain when the car was used and which celebrities were in the vehicle.
John Schneider’s 1969 “General Lee” Dodge Charger
Bo Duke himself built and owned four General Lees, all of which have “Bo’s General Lee” on the roof mural. What isn’t known is just what, exactly, Mr. Schneider has done to this particular Charger. Is it the one he raced at the Silver State Classic? We don’t know, but we do know that the car was used in several commercials and starred in “Behind The Scenes With Bo”.
Sean Boswell’s 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo from “The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift”
The movie sucked, even for the franchise, but Tokyo Drift did bring have one bright spot: the rough-as-hell street brawler of a Monte Carlo that Sean drove in the opening scenes of the movie, looking absolutely badass next to the Home Improvement kid’s Viper. According to Hemmings, this is actually a 1972 model built up to look like a ’71, and is one of the two small-block powered jump cars. Originally meant to be the backup car for the jump scene, this is the vehicle that you see running down the alley behind the half-completed houses.
Auction Link: Julien’s Auctions’ Hollywood Legends
“The Wild One” was made in 1953, so that 1970 Harley could not have been in that movie. The motorcycle Brando rode was a Triumph Thunderbird.
It doesnt claim to be in that movie-reread it!
” along with Marlon Brando’s 1970 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra Glide that appeared in “The Wild One” ”
Pretty sure that says it was in the movie.
I’d definitely take that Monte Carlo. One of my favorite movie cars, just for how raw and mean it was. It of course would need a 632 put in it, like it was supposed to have. And as for the race against the Viper, I’m pretty sure this thing would have smoked it in a straight line in the real world.
In Auburn, IN there is a Carl Casper K.I.T.T car in that museum. You think it is an original? I read about the car there but can’t remember what it said.
Yes, it’s one of the cars used in the TV series. He built a bunch of them as he did for other TV shows and movies he was commissioned to build cars for. And unlike Barris, Winfield or Jefferies – Carl Casper kept all of his cars. They are at the Kruse Museum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
He did the cars for K.I.T.T, The A-Team, the General Lee and the Batmobiles for the movies
Auburn, IN, not Ft Wayne. It is a really neat museum and the other side of it is a huge war museum. We take the kids there once a year a there and the Duesenburg museum
Celebrity cars and Movie cars are a lot harder to forecast a selling price when sold at auction. Just look at the recent sale of Burt Reynolds Black Trans Am which sold for a (IMO) ridiculous $450,000!
Yes, some people have more money than brains and some even have A LOT more money so the skies the limit. Of course these cars aren’t being purchased as “flippers.” They are being purchased by those whose passion and desire to own a specific car has no boundaries . . . just like their checkbook.
After working with the Hollywood crowd for 15 years I have been on many sets and got up close to many of the movie cars. Most are giant buckets of crap. There is usually just one nice car of the many copies that are made. That one is called the hero car and normally used just for close ups and slow speed shots. The rest are just bondo buckets thrown together just enough to survive the few days of shooting the movie production plans to use it.
Why are they just thrown together with chicken wire and buckets of bondo and spray foam? The car buiding companies like Hollywood Picture Cars usually gets about 90 days to complete working on dozens of cars before production starts due to the delay of funds being released by the money men. The shear numbers of the same cars needed are the other problem.
The cars seen at auto shows after the movies come out are often never in the movie, or never used in the movie. They are built much nicer than anything used in filming.
“Other revved-up highlights of the sale include a black 2005 Ducati Multistrada DS1000 belonging to action film star Bruce Willis. The motorcycle has a 992cc air-cooled 90-V twin engine with manual transmission. Willis purchased the motorcycle brand new and has put approximately 290 miles on it (Estimate: $40,000-$60,000)”
Wow, he basically ran a tank or so of gas through it…is he a big enough star to bring that kind of cash for a rather mundane (for a) Ducati???
That Monte Carlo is listed for sale in Hemmings for . . . . are you ready for this . . . $1,000,000,000
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/chevrolet/monte-carlo/1749860.html
Hell, I didn’t know Dr. Evil own that Monte…