So, as I expected, the presale estimate of £19,825–£27,750 that Christie’s placed on Elton John’s 1990 Bentley Continental was miles out. Bidding at the live auction in New York finished on the 21st with a total price (including costs) of $441,000 (£350,000).
The car itself was cool, even without Elton’s stamp of approval. Black coachwork over black leather perfectly offset the silver alloy rims and a walnut dash. This two-door, 6758cc convertible is also of the era that is just so ‘now’. This car would have sold well whoever the owner was.
But let’s not pretend that Elton’s ownership didn’t make this an uber-collectable car. The singer is known for his love of cars, and he was especially passionate about this one, driving it regularly in California before having it shipped to Europe and using it there, describing it as his ‘Beloved’ Continental and gushing over how wonderful it looked. This provenance gave it a massive boost when it hit the rostrum.
Hagerty tracks the value that celebrity ownership adds to cars through the annual Power List, and this will be the 18th sale of Elton’s cars that our team has tracked (which coincidentally is the third highest number, behind just Steve McQueen and Paul Walker). The average increase of Elton’s other cars over a standard equivalent has been 115 per cent. This sale was more than five times the Hagerty Price Guide ‘excellent’ value of £62,900. That’s a big number.
This proves the inaccuracy of your price guide. I sold my 1990 Bentley Continental, RHD, 50,000 miles, in excellent but not concours condition less tha a year ago for £125,000. Private sale, no special premium or celebrity owners. Using that as your base value would show a Celebrity Premium of 180%, much more in line with your Elton John average.