"Elvis' purchased this 1971 yellow De Tomaso Pantera sports car in 1974 for $2,400 as a gift to then girlfriend Linda Thompson. This is the car Elvis shot - on more than one occasion! George Klein, Myrna Smith and Sheila Ryan all tell rather amazing stories about Elvis and this De Tomaso Pantera sports car:
George Klein was at Graceland one afternoon and commented on the Pantera sitting around in the back driveway. He asked Elvis about it and Elvis was apparently annoyed at the car at the time. It had quit on him driving in Memphis [It had a Ford engine!] and he had someone pick him up and drive him back to Graceland, and left the car on the side of the road. Even after it was returned to Graceland, they were unable to get it started again ... Now ... as Elvis is standing there relating this story to George he pulls out a handgun and shoots the car ... and it starts up and runs. (Thanks to George Klein for help with this story.)
Myrna Smith: 'I will never forget a hair-raising spin around Memphis in his little yellow Pantera. He was a great driver but I knew he was trying to scare me. He thought it was funny'. When they finally schreeched to a stop in Graceland's driveway, Elvis completed the 'shock treatment' by pulling out a gun and shooting the dashboard as he castigated the car for not running right.
Sheila Ryan: One time we were gonna go for a ride in the yellow Pantera and I was petrified. I was worried because he didn't drive that often. We were always in a limousine.
It was late and dark and we were on the Mississippi interstate. Elvis was driving. It's just the two of us. And we were going seventy-five and I'm thinking, okay, I can deal with seventy-five. And then eighty-five and ninety-five and a hundred and thirty. We were going a hundred and thirty. Then Elvis says, 'Here, you take the wheel'. And takes his hands off and I was like, 'Please, that's not funny. Please'. And I was like begging him. I was really scared. It was a side of him that I didn't see often. Carefree. He wasn't on the job. He wasn't working. He wasn't in Vegas. He wasn't doing shows. He was just having a good time. When I saw those gates with the musical notes on them, I was really happy to be back."
taken from elvis.com.au
(remember to give the fuckin credits when you take stuff from someone else)
The way I see it: if you are Elvis...you can buy ANY car you want...any color, any price, any day...well, he picked this one. It's also said that this was one of those gifts you say you buy for someone else when in fact you bought it for yourself.
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