Michael Jordan, or MJ, is a businessman from the U.S.. But what he is most famous for, is being a former professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Having played 15 seasons in the NBA, Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls.
During his career as a professional basketball player, Jordan has received numerous awards and titles, and was considered one of the most bankable and most successful marketed athletes of his generation.
Considered a basketball legend, Jordan was the person behind the success of Nike's Air Jordan, by making the sneakers an icon for decades. He has also starred as himself in the Space Jam and in the 2020 miniseries The Last Dance.
With his success throughout his career, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history.
As a celebrity, he had a 1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 Coupe which had been customized to his liking.
And that car, has been sold twice in online auctions, in just a few months.
The first time it was up for sale, was on eBay.
The S600 was sold for $202,200 at an auction, despite the bidding kicking off at a mere $23.
The car has rusts here and there, and has been worn quite a bit scratches and with its 252,803km piling up on its odometer. Also, the car has not been serviced since 2011, according to the seller.
This Jordan's Benz was certainly not in the very best of conditions, with signs of a repaint on several body panels, along with even more scratches and cracks to the bumper covers..
However, the 6 liter V12-powered 2-door luxury sports coupe attracted plenty of interested buyers thanks to Jordan as its previous owner, and also because of some of the modifications Jordan made.
For example, the dark blue metallic car is equipped with a 20 inch Lorinser rims, a dual square exhaust tip and doorsills also from Lorinser, a rear spoiler, and an aftermarket Alpine head unit.
But what makes this car unique and one-of-a-kind, is the car's in-built phone that bears the NBA star's name.
The auction closed on August 23 after 177 bids, with the final price far exceeding the typical sale prices for S-Class cars of the same era, which has a value of just around $9600 and $12,200.
It also outperformed the original price Jordan paid for the car when it was brand new in 1996, which was bought at $133,300 (including the customization).
“Some people have signed basketballs or sneakers or photographs of the basketball giant. But how many people do you know who own Michael Jordans car? This is the Holy Grail of Michael Jordan memorabilia,” said Alex Manos, owner of the Beverly Hills Car Club.
However, 5 months later, the car again made its appearance in an online auction.
The car that starred at the Netflix documentary The Last Dance, went up for sale again because the previous buyer of the car was unable to secure enough financing for the investment.
This time, the car was listed through Bring A Trailer online auction site.
The selling dealer, Beverly Hills Car Club, is the same one that put it on auction back in August 2020 on eBay.
The S600 of that generation is known to enthusiasts as C140.
And this ex-Jordan's is also for sale with a photo showing Jordan with the car during his ownership, and the the car's original title, which was signed by Jordan and his then-wife, Juanita.
It should be noted that Michael Jordan and his then-wife are listed as the original owners on the car’s title since December 1995, when the car was new, until 2003.
