Posted on: May 24, 2024, 12:47h.
Last updated on: May 24, 2024, 12:50h.
Two limousines formerly owned by the most successful Las Vegas magicians of all time are being auctioned online by Traverse City, Mich.’s Hagerty Marketplace. And so far, the highest bid for either is only $3,500!
Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn are the late German-American illusionists who opened their show in 1990 at the brand new Mirage. It ran there until Horn was mauled by one of his tigers onstage on Oct. 3, 2003.
Roy died in 2020 of complications from COVID-19 at age 75. Siegfried followed him in less than a year later, dying of pancreatic cancer at age 81.
Tiger in Your Tank
The limos, sold directly by the pair’s estate, were built by British automaker Vanden Plas, a favorite of the Royal Family, as part of its Princess line. One was used by Siegfried & Roy for work, the other for play.
The 1967 model — royal blue with an electric motor — appeared nightly with its owners and their tigers. It was specially outfitted for the stage with a Plexiglas divider to keep all four-legged passengers in the back seat.
According to Siegfried, this limo was previously owned by Hollywood starlet Greta Garbo. However, neither Siegfried nor Roy were famous for telling the truth. (Both claimed that the tiger attack was not their fault when it really was.)
The 1965 model — white with a six-cylinder, 4.0-liter engine — shuttled Siegfried & Roy to and from openings and other Las Vegas events. According to Hagerty, it was restored in Germany in the 1980s.
Hagerty’s website admits that the mileage of both extensively rebuilt cars is “unknown.”
Cheap Rides
This online auction seems perfectly timed to capitalize on nostalgia for the next great disappearing act from the Las Vegas Strip. Following on the heels of the closing and current demolition of the Tropicana, The Mirage will close on July 17, for three years of renovations from which it will then emerge as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.
And yet the current bid for the 1965 limo is only $3,500, while the “show car” has so far fetched even less — $900.
As of Friday morning, 10 days remain on both auctions, so that is likely to change.
