Sunken Rolls-Royce Palm Beach
October 26, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
And he did it for love of the reefs. A piece of automotive history lies not in a stuffy showroom, roped off with its specs listed on a plaque, nor in the garage of an avid car collector. No, this piece of history lies 80ft at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in West Palm Beach, FL.
In 1985, the then 39 year old hairdresser, Greg Hauptner decided he’d had enough time with his 1967 Rolls Royce Shadow, worth at that time around $25,000 to $30,000. He was open to suggestion as to how he would dispose of it. Hauptner recieved offers of money and flesh for his classic luxury vehicle, and even a desperate request from a county jail inmate. After lengthy deliberation, however, the avid diver donated his Shadow to the sea.
Celebrating the sinking of his automobile in style, donning an Yves St. Laurent dinner jacket over a bottle of Spanish champagne, he watched the car, which he’d owned for nine years sink 80ft. tot he bottom of the Atlantic ocean, offshore of the Breakers near the inlet in West Palm Beach. Hauptner’s decision to sink the vehicle was done in hopes of raising awareness to save the South Florida reefs, many which have succumbed to natural erosion, but joked when asked why he did it, playfully responding, “The ashtrays were full.” Pricy accessories such as the front grill, worth about $4,000 and hubcaps worth around $500 were welded to the vehicle to prevent divers from disassembling the car.
Greg Hauptner went on to sell his seven hair salons and launched G-Star, a charter High School teaching “Artademics”, focusing mainly on arts for motion pictures and television. His school and his career in media has since flourished, and his Rolls still sits at the bottom of the ocean.
