David Blackmore says his 1969 and 1971 Mercedes 600 Pullmans, both previously owned by Hugh Hefner, have had particularly colourful histories. Photo / Reuters
A Mercedes Benz owned by Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is for sale in New Zealand for a cool $300,000.
Property developer and car enthusiast David Blackmore owns two of Hefner's former cars - a 1969 and a 1971 Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman.
Mr Blackmore said he was
happy to sell either car, but probably not both.
The glove-box of the 1969 six-door model is lined with pink fluff - something Mr Blackmore describes as "very Hugh Hefner".
Only 140 six-door Pullmans were built. The 1969 model has a black leather interior, an intercom, a reclining rear seat, a sun roof and a champagne compartment. The 1971 model is identical except it has a red interior and television in the back.
Mr Blackmore, who owns about 30 cars, bought both models around three years ago.
The 1969 model was purchased through Barrett-Jackson auction house in the United States and the 1971 model through a car dealership in Florida. They had both previously been in private collections.
"I don't really want to sell either of them, but there are other things I want to buy and there's a limit to how many cars I can have. If I don't get a good price, I won't sell them."
But the Hefner cars don't come cheap. Mr Blackmore won't accept less than $300,000 for either.
The cars, which were owned by Hefner at the same time, have been on the market for about three months and Mr Blackmore said he'd had a few inquiries from here and overseas.
So how does he know they are the real deal? The auction house provided an invoice with Hefner's name on it when Mr Blackmore bought the 1969 model.
He said the cars had interesting histories.
"One man from the United States said he had followed this or the other car one night and saw [actor] Jack Nicholson hop out. They were party cars that guests would get driven around in. A lot of Hollywood people have been in them."
