No Love In Vegas For Tiger Killing Rolls Royce

[Karloff]

No Love In Vegas For Tiger Killing Rolls Royce

This 1925 classic didn't quite meet the bidders' approval.

Way back in the Roaring Twenties, Maharaja Umed Singh II of Kotah decided he needed a way both to display his wealth and keep those pesky tigers out of the shrubbery. Naturally he turned to Rolls Royce to solve his problem, and the quality car maker turned out something special: this custom built 1925 Phantom I, complete with hand-crank .45 calibre popgun, towed at the rear. Gaze upon what true wealth can buy, and wonder what would happen if you were ever daft enough to fire that thing while the car was moving.

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Alas, it didn't meet its reserve price. It had been expected to go for something like $1 million in a Vegas auction, with a reserve of $450,000, but some callous swine - or possibly just an over-enthusiastic former owner - decided to change its paint scheme, a decision that may have put off potential collectors. The original was grey, whereas this cherry red - though cheerful, and maybe even topical if you wanted to stretch a point almost past endurance [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er--DLaG7SM] - is a late addition.

Still, if you happen to have $450,000 burning a hole in your pocket and you just the auctioneers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128266-Reuters-US-Consumers-Prefer-PS4]; there's a disappointed owner out there who may be interested.

Source: Wired [http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/09/rolls-royce-tiger-car/]


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[Ldude893]

I want to see that thing in a James Bond movie. God, a chase sequence with that thing will be as awesome as the tank chase in Goldeneye.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Dear god why would u do that to a collectors item? The value comes from how much you can keep as original. Silly man.

 

[Remus]

This just goes to show, a cherry paintjob does not always make something better. Now if some rich sap buys this abomination - it was made for killing tigers so it earned the title - they will have to then restore it for resale, in which case it might go for half of the current price.

 

[KDR_11k]

It probably wasn't a collector's item when it was repainted.

 

[Formica Archonis]

I'm suddenly reminded of advice the Completely Useless Encyclopedia gave to convention runners, reportedly because the authors witnessed a singularly disastrous prop auction:

If you have a DVD of the show a guest was in twenty years ago, by all means get him to sign it for later auctioning. It's worth more autographed.

If you have a pristine prop or original costume from the show a guest was in twenty years ago, DO NOT hand him a Sharpie and say "Write something on this, it'll fetch a few extra bucks." Because it won't.

 

[Nosirrah]

To be honest, i'm kind of disappointed. I thought this thread was about a rolls royce that murdered a tiger and went on the run in vegas.
That would be the greatest film ever.