Gold fever

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Norwegian business tycoon Björn Lyng was once given a Rolls-Royce Corniche by his friends to celebrate his 60th birthday. These things happen in these scenes. But Lyng’s Rolls was far from standard. After all, before parking it in the banquet hall, Lyng's friends had brought the four-wheeler to the goldsmith with the order to have all chrome and stainless parts gold plated. Grille, bumpers, hubcaps, strips, buttons and ventilation grilles: everything was immersed in a 24-carat gold bath. It was estimated that no less than 15 kilograms of the noble steel had been incorporated into the car. With a pearl-coloured paint and a red leather interior, it was a striking car to say the least.

But Lyng'ss Rolls-Royce was certainly not the only golden carriage. The bodies of three DeLorean DMC 12s had been gold plated before for three chosen holders of an American Express Gold Card. One of those three cars is believed to still reside in the lobby of the Snyder National Bank in Texas, as this particular example had been bought at the time by the president of the bank "to put Snyder on the map". After all, how can you promote safe banking better than by parking a 24-carat gold plated car in full view of robbers in the shop window...?

(Words editor, picture DeLoreanDirectory.com)

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