He bought the sports car with ford engine of 1954 cc at $ 2.400 as a gift for then girlfriend Linda Thompson. Another girlfriend Sheila Ryan shared a memory about the car: “Once Elvis and I went for a ride to Memphis aboard the yellow Pantera. Right after we left Graceland, I was petrified with fear. I was worried because Elvis hadn’t been driving in a long time, in fact we were always in a limo. That time it was late and dark and we were on the Mississippi Interstate, Elvis was driving, at some point we were going very, very fast and I thought, all right, I can deal with it. Then Elvis screamed: “here take the wheel” and suddenly he puts his hands out of the window! I was really scared. That was a part of him I’d never seen before. Carefree. He wasn’t at work. Elvis was very excited that day, but he wasn’t in Vegas, he wasn’t doing shows….. When I finally saw that gate with musical notes (Graceland gate) I was really happy to be back…. safe and sound” .
