John F. Kennedy Jr.'s 1994 Saab 900 SE Coupe will be auctioned by RR Auctions on November 11th at 7 p.m. EST. The dark green three-door coupe was Kennedy's last vehicle before his death in a plane crash off Martha's Vineyard on July 16, 1999.
Kennedy purchased the Saab new in the summer of 1994 from Zumbach Sports Cars in Manhattan for $29,841.21. The car features a light beige leather interior, five-speed manual transmission, and a turquoise-green "Main Beach" roof rack. It has 30,650 miles on the odometer and shows wear on the leather and soiling on the carpeting.
The listing notes that Kennedy's choice of a modest Swedish hatchback reflected his understated style, far removed from the ostentation his wealth could have afforded. He drove it regularly around New York, and the car became a recurring backdrop in period photographs as paparazzi followed him through the city.
After the plane crash, the Saab remained at the Larchmont, New York home of Kennedy's friend Kevin Hynes. Hynes purchased it from the Kennedy estate in 2000 for $6,000 and sold it to Michael Esposito in 2006 for $12,000. This marks the first time the vehicle itself has been offered at auction.
The car will include a printed photograph of Kennedy and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy with the Saab, along with personal items such as an E-ZPass transponder, a handwritten telephone-message sheet, and an Airborne Express receipt from the 2000 estate transaction. As of publication, the auction had received 24 bids with a current price of $26,575.