Elvis' Secret Chevy Van Uncovered
AmeriCarna host and three-time NASCAR championship winning crew chief Ray Evernham talks about Jeff Gordon's retirement and takes ups behind the scenes at Graceland.
There's been an Elvis sighting in New York! That is to say an Elvis car sighting.
Elvis was photographed on the set of "King Creole" in New Orleans with his Continental. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images // Graceland)
Lincoln has parked a 1956 Continental Mark II originally owned by The King on its stand at the New York International Auto Show as part of the brand's ongoing 100th anniversary celebration.
Elvis paid $10,688 for the Continental Mark II in Miami. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
The car isn't technically a Lincoln, as Continental existed as an independent brand at the time before being incorporated into Lincoln as a model line. Just around 3,000 of the ultra luxury coupes were built over two model years, and how Elvis came to own his is a story in itself.
Angie Marchese, Graceland's vice president of archives and exhibits, told Fox News Autos that Elvis was on tour in Miami and had parked his Lincoln Premier outside the venue he was performing at, only to discover after the show that it had been covered in lipstick and notes left on it by adoring fans.
Elvis regularly used the Continental before selling it in the early 1960s. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
Rather than just take it to a car wash, Elvis drove to the closest Lincoln dealer and traded it in for $7,000 toward the purchase of the all-white Continental, which listed for $10,688, the equivalent of about $106,000 today. Fellow singer Frank Sinatra also owned one at the time, as did Elizabeth Taylor, who had hers painted a shade of blue that matched her eye color.
Elvis used it for the rest of the tour and eventually drove it back to Memphis. He kept it in his collection for several years and even took it to New Orleans with him during the filming of "King Creole."
Elvis ex-wife Priscilla Presley appeared with the car at the "Elvis at the 02" exhibition at O2 Arena in London. (Zak Hussein/Corbis via Getty Images)
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He eventually sold it after his return in 1960 from West Germany, where he was stationed during his time in the U.S. Army. Graceland reacquired it a few years ago. It resides in the Presley Motors Museum at Graceland when it's not out on loan for events like the auto show, where it is displayed with the original bill of sale, the check he used to pay for it, and other artifacts.