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Elizabeth Taylor's Rolls-Royce Will Be Auctioned Outside New York’s Pierre Hotel

Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s famed 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II convertible is going to be sold at a special Guernsey's Auction House sale on August 6 at the Pierre Hotel, in New York. It may very well sell for a record price for the model.

Taylor purchased her 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé—a rare convertible custom bodied by the Mulliner coach-building house—a year after her marriage to vocalist Eddie Fisher. Fisher had left his wife, Debbie Reynolds, and daughter, Carrie Fisher, in order to wed Taylor, and while the span of that marriage was only five years, Taylor’s ownership of the Rolls lasted nearly two decades.

Taylor ordered the automobile in a custom shade of green that matched her favorite dress. (Fact: She once got married in that very same gown.) She nicknamed the car the “Green Goddess,” in reference to its verdant hue. Since the Rolls was delivered to her, as per her request, in American-spec, with the steering wheel on the left-hand side, she had the vehicle sent to New York. She drove it in the city for a year or so, but when she went to Rome for the epic filming of Cleopatra in 1962, she and Fisher had the car shipped there.

A look at Liz Taylor's fabled Green Goddess.
A look at Liz Taylor's fabled Green Goddess.
Photo: Courtesy of Guernsey’s

This was a fateful trip, because in Italy she began her affair with her costar Richard Burton. Fisher was likely enraged about this circumstance. Perhaps (though we can never be sure) this was catalyst for a fender bender he had with the Green Goddess in the Eternal City, rushing to meet Taylor at the film set.

Taylor’s very public affair with Burton continued when the two returned to the States, where he was quite often seen driving the Green Goddess. The car, Taylor, and Burton frequently appeared on the cover of magazines during this time and after their subsequent marriage in 1964, including an issue of Vanity Fair.

The famous convertible is in mint condition.
The famous convertible is in mint condition.
Photo: Courtesy of Guernsey’s

Taylor kept the car for nearly 20 years, driving it until 1978, and then allowing to linger in storage in her bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The gentleman who bought it from her—apparently via a classified ad she placed in the Wall Street Journal—has owned it ever since then, and it has remained on the West Coast, meticulously maintained.

A look at the detail inside of the 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
A look at the detail inside of the 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
Photo: Courtesy of Guernsey’s

According to Dave Kinney, publisher of the Hagerty Price Guide—a valuation bible for vintage car collectors—these cars are rare, desirable, and thus quite pricey. “There are very few Mulliner-bodied, left-hand-drive Rolls-Royce Cloud II Convertibles, and even fewer with documented histories, celebrity ownership, and a distinct, custom-ordered color,” Kinney says. “While a ‘normal’ left-hand-drive Cloud II Convertible in excellent condition might struggle finding its way to clear $500,000, the Green Goddess should sell for perhaps a 25% or better bonus.” Meaning, it could likely go for $625,000 or more, nearly $200,000 more than the highest hammer price seen on this model, a 1962 Cloud II Convertible that sold for $431,854 at a Sotheby’s auction in 2011.

“I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions,” Taylor once said. Her Rolls convertible exemplified that personal creed, and, even eight years after her death, continues to represent her enthusiasm for the best. We hope it finds a home where it will be driven and enjoyed.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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