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Elizabeth Taylor’s Rolls-Royce Coupe, the Green Goddess, Hits the Auction Block

Elizabeth Taylor loved luxury and herself, so she did her best to make the two meet as often as possible. One of her most extravagant gets was the Green Goddess, a beautiful Rolls-Royce she had commissioned in the ‘60s.
The Green Goddess: Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II commissioned and owned by Elizabeth Taylor 32 photos
Photo: Guernsey’s
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The name comes from the unique shade of the paint on the car, which Taylor requested that it be made especially for her. She wanted a ride that matched the dress she wore for her wedding with Eddie Fisher in 1959, and she got just that: a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II drophead coupe in a beautiful shade of “smoke green” that extended to the leather interior.

It will hit the auction block in August this year at Pierre Hotel in New York City, courtesy of Guernsey’s. As The Telegraph notes, under normal circumstances, such a Rolls would sell for about $700,000 but given its link to one of the most beautiful women of all times, a screen icon and beloved celebrity, and its history, it is expected to go for upwards of $7 million.

The Goddess comes with personalized plates, LIZ SC2 and has only 40,644 miles on the odometer. It has a personalized left-hand drive: only 20 of them were ever built. Liz loved it and kept it for almost 20 years, even having it shipped to Rome when she started shooting “Cleopatra.” That working trip marked the end of her marriage to Fisher, as she met and fell in love with her co-star (who was also married at the time), Richard Burton.

After Taylor’s divorce from Fisher and her (first) marriage to Burton, Burton would often be seen driving around in the Goddess.

In the late ‘70s, Taylor took out a newspaper ad to sell the Goddess. A longtime California fan began negotiations with her for it and eventually bought it for the price the star had asked: Taylor refused to lower the amount, it is said.

He’s kept it all these years and is now ready to sell it. The Goddess will go on display at Pierre Hotel on July 23 and will go under the hammer next month.

“It was the most glamorous car one could acquire at the time,” Arlan Ettinger, the founding head of Guernsey’s, tells The Telegraph. “It was beautiful, but edgy in that it was a convertible. It was not a stately Rolls Royce. It was a Rolls Royce with flare. The combination of this being a beautiful Rolls Royce and Liz Taylor's car makes it doubly special. It has a fascinating history. Unlike many celebrities who own a car for a short while and then pass it on, she became identified with this car.”
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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