Last December, you might remember the stories about Janis Joplin’s Psychedelic Porsche selling at auction. Don’t be surprised if you see it being driven around the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area. Its new owner lives on Gull Lake. Sources say she bought it to give to herself as a 60th birthday present.

The car, a 1964 Porsche 356 that once belonged to the rock singer Janis Joplin sold at auction for a record $1.76 million. The car had been expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000.

CNN reports that Joplin bought the Porsche in 1968 for $3500.00. She had it painted, from bumper to bumper and door to door, in a mural: landscapes, birds, butterflies, floating eyes, mushrooms and skull-like faces. Joplin was known to drive the car a lot around San Francisco. Fans would supposedly leave her notes tucked under the windshield wipers.

How did it come to have the psychedelic paint job? Lifebuzz.com reports that one of her roadies, Dave Roberts, did the original paint job.  Some reports say it was stolen and the thief spray painted it gray.  The car was recovered and driven by Joplin’s manager Albert Grossman as a courtesy car and later was taken back by the family. Joplin’s brother Michael restored it, and eventually artists Jana Mitchell and Amber Owen used photos to re-create the psychedelic mural.

Sotheby's To Auction Custom-Designed Vintage Cars
(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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