A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 30 years.
The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday (May 27) at an Agoura Hills, Calif., event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said.
The buyer was not disclosed in the sold note posted on the firm’s website, and GWS Auctions spokesman Carl Carter did not immediately return a call for additional information.
The auction house says Elvis designed the interior that has gold-tone woodwork, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. But the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit.
The 1962 red Lockheed JetStar was owned by Elvis and his father, Vernon Presley, Liveauctioneers.com says.
It has been privately owned for 35 years and sitting on a tarmac in Roswell, N.M.
Photos of the plane show exterior in need of restoration and seats of the cockpit torn.
A previous owner of the private jet disputed the auction house’s claim the king of rock ‘n’ roll designed its red velvet interior.
Roy McKay told KOB-TV in Albuquerque on Tuesday he designed the interior himself. McKay says when he purchased the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar it had a two-toned gray interior and “kind of looked like a casket.”
But Carter told The Associated Press the auction house is confident Elvis designed the interior, which photos show has red velvet seats and red shag carpet.
Carter said Federal Aviation Administration records show no interior changes were ever made to the jet.
Presley was born in Tupelo on Jan. 8, 1935, and moved to Memphis with his parents at age 13. He became a leading figure in the fledgling rockabilly scene by covering songs originally performed by African-American artists like Big Mama Thornton (“Hound Dog”) and Arthur Crudup (“That’s All Right”).
His provocative dancing and hit records turned him into one of the 20th century’s most recognizable icons. Historians say his music also helped usher in the fall of racial segregation.
Elvis was 42 when he died on Aug. 16, 1977, in Memphis.