That’s how she Rolls: Elizabeth Taylor’s ‘Green Goddess’ hits the road

NEW YORK — She may have had seven husbands, but Elizabeth Taylor had only one 1961 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II, which went quickly when it hit the auction block earlier this month, according to Guernsey’s, the New York auction house that handled the big sale.

The Rolls sold for $520,000 to an anonymous buyer, Guernsey’s reported.

Taylor’s fourth husband, singer Eddie Fisher, bought the car for the star in 1960, and she kept it after their divorce five years later. In 1978, it was sold to Karl Kardel, who put it up for auction.

The beautiful luxury ride features a left-hand drive, a 6.2 liter V-8 engine with 40,644 miles on the odometer, and the iconic Rolls Royce silver goddess hood ornament.

The vehicle got its name, the Green Goddess, from its unique, custom green color which matched the dress Taylor wore when she married Fisher — and it still bares her nickname “Liz” on the license plate.

The auction took place at the Pierre, a swanky New York City hotel where she and Fisher lived, loved and parked the famous green Rolls, Guernsey’s said. They even took the Rolls with them to Rome in 1962 for the filming of “Cleopatra,” in which Taylor played the starring role. Fisher damaged the Rolls’ fender when rushing to the film set one day — perhaps sensing that something was up between Taylor and her co-star, Richard Burton, who she happened to marry after divorcing Fisher in 1964.

According to Gurnsey’s, Kardel told The New York Times that he decided to sell the car because, at 78, he is slowing down after being hit by a car. While he would not reveal what he paid Taylor for the classic in the late 1970s, but he did explain to the Times that, “When I bought it, my friends thought I was an idiot.”