Photo: Bonhams
Nowadays, vacation is all about road tripping, off-road adventure with powerful 4x4 vehicles. It’s all about the big guns now. Back in the day, however, business moguls would spend their holidays taking their friends on lay-low trips using beach cars like this. Cars such as the Fiat 600 Jolly were created for use on large yachts owned by wealthy people.
The story behind this fancy car is rather interesting and goes way back. It was 1958 when Fiat shipped a small number of 600s to the Italian design house Ghia for conversion into the Jolly. The car was conceived as a toy for the wealthy Europeans and the US market and came with a price tag nearly double that of a standard 600. Not only did they came in a limited edition with each being unique in its way, but it is also believed that fewer than 100 still exist today.
As we mentioned, we’re talking about an eccentric club of owners that includes the likes of Aristotle Onassis, Yul Brynner, Grace Kelly, Marry Pickford, Mae West and others. As the principal shareholder of Fiat, it’s only natural Gianni Agnelli owned one too. In fact, the one that belonged to the Italian industrialist almost went under the hammer about four years ago.
This takes us to the first reason the unit in question is better than Agnelli’s. You see, the family of the Italian business mogul sold the Jolly in 1960, and the car reportedly had only four owners when the current one purchased it. Our beach car here, however, comes to the market after an amazing continuous ownership of 54 years.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what the second reason that makes this unit better than Agnelli’s car is. Well, it’s quite straightforward. As opposed to the one owned by Fiat's boss, that never sold at auction eventually, this one is actually going under the hammer this Friday, at the Quail Lodge Auction.
As we mentioned, we’re talking about an eccentric club of owners that includes the likes of Aristotle Onassis, Yul Brynner, Grace Kelly, Marry Pickford, Mae West and others. As the principal shareholder of Fiat, it’s only natural Gianni Agnelli owned one too. In fact, the one that belonged to the Italian industrialist almost went under the hammer about four years ago.
This takes us to the first reason the unit in question is better than Agnelli’s. You see, the family of the Italian business mogul sold the Jolly in 1960, and the car reportedly had only four owners when the current one purchased it. Our beach car here, however, comes to the market after an amazing continuous ownership of 54 years.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what the second reason that makes this unit better than Agnelli’s car is. Well, it’s quite straightforward. As opposed to the one owned by Fiat's boss, that never sold at auction eventually, this one is actually going under the hammer this Friday, at the Quail Lodge Auction.
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