What serendipitous timing. Just as Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scored his 895th goal and broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL scoring record, we learn that Gretzky’s 1994 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV he was gifted for breaking the previous record in 1994 is up for auction. The no-reserve auction is live now and ends on April 17, 2025.
Gretzky was presented the car in a pre-game ceremony by his team at the time, the Los Angeles Kings. This really puts the pressure on the Washington Capitals to gift Ovechkin something of equal or greater value. Or maybe the team should just buy Gretzky’s black convertible and start a new tradition of passing it down to each new scoring record holder.
Gretzky’s 1994 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV
Gretzky scored his 802nd goal on March 23, 1994 in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, which gave him the scoring title from hockey legend Gordey Howe. The black 1994 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV was driven onto the ice during a pre-game ceremony a week later wearing the license plate “GOAL 802”. Of course, Gretzky would continue his career a little while longer and end up with 894 career goals, a record that stood for 31 years until Alex Ovechkin broke it on April 6, 2025.
The timing of this is too perfect. With Ovechkin breaking Gretzky’s scoring record and The Great One being there to both witness it and shake the hand of the man who surpassed him, this car’s value will definitely be lifted by association.
The car originally came from Rolls-Royce of Beverly Hills and includes original documentation such as its registration card signed by the LA Kings’ then-CFO. It is chassis number X50019 and one of just 219 Corniche IVs built, making it very rare. It’s also powered by the brand’s venerable 6.75-liter V8 and includes new-for-the-time features such as an adaptive suspension, anti-lock brakes, and dual airbags.
The color is a dual black with vermillion pinstripes and a black leather interior with walnut veneer trim, a gray headliner, and black Wilton carpets. A $17,000 service was recently performed on the car, and it was detailed on YouTube by Jakub Marek.
According to RM Sotheby’s, it’s not known how long Gretzky owned the car. What we do know is that it popped back up on the public’s radar in 2016 under the ownership of a collector in California who displayed it a concours d’elegance in Palm Springs. It then passed to another collector in 2023. Through all that time, it’s only been driven a scant 9,100 miles.
TopSpeed’s Take
The timing of this is too perfect. With Ovechkin breaking Gretzky’s scoring record and The Great One being there to both witness it and shake the hand of the man who surpassed him, this car’s value will definitely be lifted by association. It’s also a stately example of Rolls-Royce in the ’90s that appears to have been impeccably well cared for.
If we were the Washington Capitals, we’d be bidding furiously on this auction so that we could present Ovechkin with the same car that Gretzky was gifted 31 years earlier. The connection to the past is an irresistible opportunity to connect hockey’s legacy to its future. And if the team were feeling overly generous, they could pair it with a modern Rolls-Royce, maybe the new all-electric Spectre. You’re welcome, Alex.
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