More from Monterey: Would you buy a used car from Oprah Winfrey?
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For sale: Aston Martin, one careful lady owner. Oprah Winfrey is selling her 1997 DB7 Volante, plus a 1998 Rolls-Royce Corniche II Convertible and a gorgeous 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. Sadly, she’s not just putting them in the Los Angeles Times classifieds, or even eBay. All three will be auctioned off during the Pebble Beach event up at Monterey, taking place this August 16 and 17. Officials from Gooding & Company will be wielding the hammer.
The Roller, a gift from long-time friend John Travolta, has only covered 31,000 miles and has been kept at Winfrey’s Southern California home. She bought the DB7 new, choosing the color scheme herself. The real gem of the three, though, is the Benz, an automotive icon. It used to belong to the DuPont family and has been restored to a level that only someone as well off as Winfrey could afford. But thank goodness there are people out there with the money and inclination to keep such cars in pristine condition.
So why is the talk-show diva scaling down her car collection? The proceeds are to benefit the Arts and Culture Workshop at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls -- South Africa. Winfrey has already donated $40 million to this cause.