A Rolls-Royce Phantom, one of the most expensive luxury cars in the world, has been put up for sale on an online auction by the National Tax Agency.
The Rolls Royce was seized by the Tokyo Tax Agency from a tax defaulter, and its bid price starts at 10.3 million yen. The red-and-silver car was first registered in 2009 and has been in an accident, Sankei Shimbun reported.
According to one source, the Rolls is one model older than the latest one but it still costs more than 50 million yen brand-new. It usually costs about 15 million yen as a used car but it is a bit cheaper due to the accident.
To participate in the auction, bidders have to register on the Yahoo auction site by Monday night. The bidding will take place Feb 19-22. For more detailed information, click here.
© Japan Today
26 Comments
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M3M3M3
What a monstrosity.
Rolls Royce actually used to make very nice cars but after they were bought by BMW, every model has been a ridiculous caricature of what people think a Roll Royce should be .. huge, ostentatious, incredibly expensive etc.
SenseNotSoCommon
What an appropriate colour.
zones2surf
Right. Let's see. I am going to buy a car from the National Tax Agency. Which tells them that I have lots of money.
Is it just me or wouldn't it be better for the NTA to not really know who I am and that I might have lots of money?!
That is apart from the colour scheme of the car.....
warispeace
@zones2surf has a point. Let's hope the tax authorities check out other bidders to find more tax cheats.
FightingViking
We wouldn't be able to drive it home - unless they make the "narrow path" leading to the house quite a bit wider...
cleo
That is one ugly-looking car. Only someone with more money than they know what to do with would buy it, I'm sure.
TakahiroDomingo
whats a tax defaulter? actually, never mind, i really dont care
zones2surf
@cleo,
Or someone that THOUGHT they had more money than they knew what to do with. As clearly they did not have enough money to pay their taxes!!
Moonraker
I understand what you say, M3, but maybe that is why I kinda like the design. They are a burlesque. Where else could they have gone? Understated? I think BMW have done quite a good job with them.
nakanoguy01
half a million dollars for a new one? gtf outta here. but i remember reading about nic cage buying a fleet of them during his heyday. that dude had money to burn and then some.
Thunderbird
the car is cool but the colors are a bit tacky.. I wouldn't ride
clueless
hideous car and colors.
Citizen2012
Must be anybody, but a politician, who is not paying their taxes I suppose.....?!?
M3M3M3
@Moonraker
My biggest complaint is the size. They should have continued in the same understated style as the Silver Seraph (which was the last RR model before BMW bought it). That was a really nice design and I don't think anyone would be embarrassed to drive it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Silver_Seraph
Rolls Royce cars have always been quite big, but this is because size used to be the way to add luxury back in the 70s and 80s when a cassette player was the height of hi-tech luxury extras. Today, luxury is more about technology than size. If I want size, I'll buy a Hi-Ace van. I think they've alienated alot of their potential customers with this collosus. My neighbour used to drive a Silver Spur back in the day, he was a sophisticated gentleman and he wouldn't be caught dead driving this freakshow on wheels.
BMW has basically turned Rolls Royce into an ultra niche brand that appeals only to a very narrow segment of the market. They've probably done this so that RR doesn't compete for sales with the BMW 7 Series.
Citizen2012
So the tax office in Japan is going to give a commission to Yahoo Japan (private corp) for this operation ? What a mess, typical of the mix of public and private interest intertwined, how long before we read that somebody at yahoo to exec gave a nice donation to some to get the deal on Yahoo.
Harry_Gatto
10 or so million is hardly a fortune, people are paying more than that for high-end imports every day, would you expect the tax office to follow-up on all those people too?
Moonraker
Again, I know what you mean, M3. Yet sales were up drastically as far as 2014. I dunno about last year. I guess I am not really that interested in cars as products so much as design projects. To me the Silver Seraph looked like a Roller designed by Cadillac. And I guess that is not really a compliment.
Mike3113King
I wonder if Japan's tax code is like the IRS? You're guilty until proven innocent. Taxes will only increase because government debt is increasing at an historical pace.
Citizen2012
probably something in the line of "you are not innocent until proven guilty"
M3M3M3
@Moonraker
Fair point. Although it's worth mentioning that China is now their biggest market. The Chinese seem to love the ostentatious look and can't get enough of them.
JeffLee
@M3M3M3
The Phantom has always been RR's limousine model, for transporting the Queen and other big shots, often in parades. They need to be big. The older Phantoms looked even bigger, almost bus-like.
Moonraker
Yes, M3, and perhaps for Chinese buyers there is not much Rolls Royce design heritage to consider. So our discussion of burlesque and caricatures would be moot. Indeed. And looking at it with no sense of heritage to compare to, it is what it is; a tasteless monster that denotes wealth. But it even does that very well, as you say. I guess, in the end, it is about pleasing the customer. Perhaps Rollers always were pretty grotesque for me and BMW have just built well on that.
inkochi
Maybe it will end up in China. It is not like it is an oversized maguro caught in Japanese waters and some prospective customers are staunchly against it leaving Japan.
kurisupisu
10000000 yen is not cheap! The Japanese tax office is asking this for an accident car? It's also left hand drive-not such a bargain....
BPoint
2009....? at a starting bid of $80,000...? Good investment..! Take it back to the US and flip it. I mean a loaded pickup these days are up around $60,000.
nattorice
beautiful looking car with an absolutely horrid color.