It’s a piece of Hollywood memorabilia that has new which means.
One of many well-known vehicles from the movie “Grease” is developing for public sale on the Mecum Auctions occasion in Monterey, California, on August 20.
The black customized 1949 Mercury often called “Hell’s Chariot” was raced by the villain, Crater Face, in opposition to Danny Zuko’s “Greased Lightning” down the Los Angeles River culvert in one of many movie’s most iconic scenes.
The car was constructed by legendary film automobile designer Eddie Paul, who chopped the highest off of a Mercury coupe to create the menacing scorching rod, with its traditional flames and a set of razor hubcaps that have been used to tear via Zuko’s Ford in the course of the race.
It was rediscovered simply over a decade in the past at a automobile store in Huntington Seaside in worn and weathered situation and bought by its present proprietor, Dave DeSure, who had it authenticated by Paul and restored to its onscreen look.
The automobile has since been utilized in a number of promoting campaigns and was featured within the opening sequence of “Grease Reside!” on Fox in 2016.
Previous to that, it paraded “Grease” star Olivia Newton-John via Las Vegas to the opening evening occasion for her residency on the Flamingo resort.
Newton-John put her signature on the automobile alongside director Randal Kleiser’s autograph on the dashboard, the place it stays in the present day.
The automobile was consigned to the Mecum occasion months earlier than Newton-John’s loss of life on August 8 and was given a pre-auction estimate of $600,000 to $750,000.
