It's no secret that celebrities have an affinity for certain cars. This is especially true for American rapper Eminem. Let's talk about his status as a global icon first: This talented songwriter has won 15 Grammy Awards and 17 Billboard Music Awards. The song "Lose Yourself" earned the Academy Award for Best Original Song and ten albums earned a spot on the Billboard 200. Not only has he sold over 220 million records, but he also made appearances in movies.
He also gets a high rank in the personality department. It's clear that he's humble, as he bought his first car, a red 1999 Ford Mustang, after his first album release (We love how he treats himself after a major milestone). He changed the car's color, and the now purple Ford Mustang made an appearance in the Purple Pills video.
Eminem didn't own the car for long, and it had a compelling history after he dropped it off at the dealership. Here are some of the car's features and what happened to this beauty once it was no longer in Eminem's possession.
The Backstory
It all started with D12. D12, a hip-hop group based in Detroit, debuted a single called "Purple Pills" in 2009. This song was from their album Devil's Night. It was known as Purple Pills on the radio due to drug references, and Eminem rapped one of the lyrics.
To say that this song was a triumph is an understatement. The song was a global hit, as it reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. It ranked in the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, and Ireland. Eminem also made an appearance in the movie Funny People that same year, spearheading his success in the entertainment world.
The Ford Mustang
Eminem's car, his very first one, was a red 1999 Ford Mustang. He used his first royalty check to pay for this car. He modified this car before it appeared in the Purple Pills video: He made the car purple and attached new chrome wheels.
Even for 1999, this Ford Mustang was impressive in part to 320 horsepower. The Mustang is an icon in the automotive world and plays a major role in American car culture, so we're not surprised that this car was a joy to ride even in 1999: There was also a 3.8-liter V6 available with 220 lb-ft of torque.
All-speed traction control ensured that wet and slippery roads didn't make driving more difficult for the driver and stopped wheels from pivoting. The steering wheel developed a strong resistance against steering kickback: The wheel halted abrupt movements if the car was driving through rough terrain. Four-wheel anti-lock brakes adjusted the brakes if the driver made sudden stops because of an emergency. These outstanding features made the Ford Mustang rival the Chevrolet Camaro. Reliability, comfort, and exceptional design propelled the Mustang to the forefront of the sports car world.
The Auction
After the music video's release, Eminem gave the car to the dealership Milne Ford in the Michigan city of Macomb. The dealership auctioned the car on eBay. The starting price was $27. On the East Coast and over 1,000 miles away from Michigan, Fort Lauderdale adolescent Courtney Wittenbern found out about the auction while listening to the Miami radio station Y100. Eminem was one of her favorite artists.
The Wittenbern family background was staggering: Her father owned a successful health club that was over a million dollars. He managed the international locations of fitness centers Lady of American, Ladies Workout Express, and Health Clubs of America. Their obtainment of this car was nothing but luck: They continued bidding on eBay until they reached their endpoint of $27,000. Someone bid $30,000, but the dealership could not verify this bid. Instead, the dealership proposed that the Wittenbern family get the car.
The Wittenbern family got the Mustang for $27,900 in 2003. $10,000 were donated to the Macomb Literacy Partners, a charity that provided reading instruction to adults. Roger, Courtney's father, said that he liked Eminem and that his favorite song is "Without Me." According to MTV, Roger said, "We thought it would be a nice charitable contribution. Plus it'll be a killer car for Courtney...I think it's a great little story."
Here was the funny catch: Courtney had to wait until 2006 to drive the car since she was not of-age. She said she listened to music in the car and washed it before the year in which she got her permit.
Overall, Eminem's beloved Mustang had an amusing history and landed in the garage of Floridian car connoisseurs.