The hilarious story of why Elvis got his Lincoln Continental

Elvis Presley’s Lincoln Continental looks like the kind of car you’d imagine The King of Rock and Roll to drive.

The beautiful car has been featured on display in recent years, including the New York Motor Show.

Before that, it spent some time in obscurity after falling off Elvis’ insurance during his stint in the army.

It was found in Australia by Angie Marchese, who is the vice president of archives and exhibits at Elvis Presley Enterprises.

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An inside look at the driving habits of the King

Elvis himself wasn’t much of a car collector – certainly not compared to some other celebrities like Tom Cruise.

But he did have a soft spot for them, and would be generous with them.

Speaking to CarBuzz, Marchese said: “Cars were his gift to give.

“One day he bought 32 Cadillacs and he gave them all away by that afternoon.”

That’s not too dissimilar to how Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson operates, as he gave cars to both his dad and his uncle.

Oh, to know a celebrity.

At the time of its release, Elvis’ Lincoln cost $10,000, which was pricey for 1956.

Only 3,000 of the cars were made, and fellow owners included names such as Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.

But Elvis’ car was picked up in extraordinary circumstances, at least for a celebrity.

He didn’t buy it because he wanted to show off or because it was the priciest around.

Elvis just needed a new car, plain and simple.

How Elvis came to buy the ’56 Lincoln

On the day he picked up the ’56 Lincoln, he was driving a Lincoln Premier.

Why did he new to get a new ride?

Well, he’d woken up the morning after a gig to find that his fans had left some racy messages on his Premier.

Let’s just say these were not the types of messages you’d want to have associated with you as you were driving around.

So Elvis headed over the nearest dealer and picked up the Continental Mark II.

His graffiti covered car fetched for $7,100 incidentally.

Elvis drove his new car from the Miami dealership back to his home in Memphis, Tennessee.

For fans visiting Graceland, the position of his cars would indicate whether or not the King was in – much like the flag’s position at Buckingham Palace.

Marchese explained: “If the cars were out front, the King was home. If they were parked around the back, he was on tour.”