Culture
Michael Jordan's 1996 S600 Benz is on auction and could be yours
With a week to go on the eBay auction for the car seen in The Last Dance, the current highest bid of $177,000 is expected to be outdone many times over.
Michael Jordan's 1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Lorinser is up for auction courtesy of the Beverly Hills Auto Club. The starting price of $23 is a cute hat-tip to the former NBA player's jersey number... but was never going to stay there for long. At the time of writing the highest bid is $177,200, but almost a week to go before the auction ends on August 23, that number is expected to climb substantially before the virtual gavel drops.
Considering two pairs of worn Nikes that graced Jordan's feet each realized prices north of $500,000 in recent months — and you can't even drive those — we wouldn't be surprised if the Mercedes sells for seven figures.
What're you bidding on? — On the block is a used, 1996 Mercedez-Benz S600 Lorinser. It's a two-door coupe in dark navy blue with a 6L V12 engine under the hood, an automatic gearbox, and a number of customizations, including the rims, a body kit, and a start-up message on the monochrome LCD that reads "Power on Jordan" when the carphone starts.
That's right, there's a carphone, that you can bet spent at least some time-pressed to the ear of one of basketballs' all-time greats. What other modern conveniences can the eventual buyer look forward to? Air conditioning, heated seats, cruise control, dual airbags, power windows, power steering, power mirrors, power seats, power sunroof, power tilt steering wheel, and power mirrors. What's the common thread here? Power!
A unique piece of memorabilia — There are 157,000 miles on the clock, and while it's unclear how many of those were put on by Jordan himself (or his wife Juanita, in whose name it was registered), thanks to the vehicle's appearance in the ESPN documentary series The Last Dance, there's no question about the car's legitimacy. If you need further reassurance, you'll also be buying the original title deed that has both Mr. and Mrs. Jordan's names signed on the reverse. It's also thanks to the show on ESPN — which has spawned dozens of memes — that Jordan memorabilia is enjoying a fresh boom of late. So if you've got anything Jordan related, now might be a good time to consider parting with it... assuming you'd ever consider such a thing.
