The King lived a lavish, fast life — and so did his private jet. Elvis Presley’s 1962 Lockheed 1329 JetStar was the cream of the crop when he bought it for $840,000 in 1976. The aircraft reached maximum speeds of 565 mph with a range of nearly 2,500 miles. Inside, up to nine passengers could fly in style, resting their rumps on plush seats covered in luxurious red velvet.
Though Presley’s jet has gathered some dust over the last several decades and is no longer flyable, the velvet seats are still intact, and you have the chance to sit in them yourself when the plane goes up for auction in January.
Filling out second mortgage as we speak!Elvis Presley’s Private Jet Is up for Sale, and the Original Red-Velvet Seats Are Still There https://t.co/Z3WiCCdL0c via @Yahoo
— Brian Logue (@BJordanLogue) December 1, 2022
The engines and most of the cockpit equipment on Presley’s plane have been removed and the exterior is not as prim and polished as it was when The King took to the skies in it, but the interior has held up and still has the original wood paneling, red carpet and upholstery, gold-finish hardware, and a media cabinet complete with a VCR and cassette player. There’s also a lavatory with a vanity and a galley with a microwave and drink dispenser.
The Lockheed is not to be confused with The King’s perhaps best-known aircraft, the Lisa Marie, named after his daughter. Presley owned a fleet of private aircraft and two of them, including the Lisa Marie, are on display at Graceland.
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Presley’s remarkable piece of rock n’ roll memorabilia is to be auctioned by Mecum Auctions in early January, after an unsuccessful attempt to auction the jet in August when a $100,000 minimum starting bid was on the table.
