Freddie Mercury's Rolls-Royce has sold with impressive results at a January 12 auction in the UK, despite the Queen singer never actually holding a licence.
The flamboyant star was once quoted: "I don't need to drive a car. I'll always be driven!" Nonetheless, his Rolls-Royce - which would have been driven by his personal chauffeur - sold for £74,000 ($119,401), making a 572.7% increase on its $11,000 high estimate.
 Sadly, the box of tissues that Mercury left behind was not offered in this sale |
This is not the first time the car has been offered at auction. It reached £8,400 ($13,548) on eBay in 2005, but failed to meet its reserve, which accounts for the low estimate given in the current auction.
This first sale saw the Rolls Royce offered with a box of tissues that Mercury had left in the car prior to his death. However, these were not mentioned in the present auction and were presumably removed.
The 1974 Silver Shadow was originally purchased by Mercury's Goose Productions specifically for his use and was driven up until he died in 1991, as confirmed by a letter from band manager Jim Beach that is held in the car's file. It has since been in the possession of Mercury's sister, who consigned it to the sale.
It was sold complete with a thick file of bills and receipts as well as old and current MOTs. Its last public outing was at the premier of the We Will Rock You musical and has covered minimal mileage since.
It seems Rolls-Royce has long been the marque of choice for British celebrities, with John Lennon's psychedelic Phantom V selling for $2.3m in 1985 to become the world's most expensive piece of music memorabilia. Princess Diana's Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II sold at auction in November 2012, bringing $122,322 in an effort to raise funds for charity.
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