Golden scooter with celeb smarts going under the hammer

Like magpies, we find - especially last thing on an evening after a long day - we’re easily distracted by anything shiny. Unsurprisingly, this golden scooter, once owned by Sir Elton John’s husband, and going up for auction caught our eye.

The very rare 1998 Italjet Velocifero Patrick Cox ‘Wannabe’ Limited Edition two-wheeler wasn’t created in homage to the Spice Girls’ global 1996 hit single. No, friend, it was created to match shoes. Well, kinda.

Motorcycle manufacturer Italjet identified that customers of the Velocifero prized style and produced a limited run in collaboration with fashion designer Patrick Cox. The collab celebrated Cox’s iconic ‘Wannabe’ shoe collection.

The chunky leather loafers inspired 100 scooters styled with black and white fairings, black side mirrors and a real snakeskin seat. An additional 20 were produced in gold, complete with 14 carat gold side mirrors, cream snakeseat seat and emblazoned with the Patrick Cox logo on the rear frame cover. This particular scooter has only 331 miles on the clock and was bought new by David Furnish, Elton’s other half, then auctioned off for charity years later.

The Velocifero 50 was initially launched in 1995. The 72kg moped has a maximum speed of 37mph on its two-stroke engine. There’s an electric starter motor, which on this example does work, though the auction house has advised it’ll need a service, as it hasn’t been used in a while.

Set to go under the hammer on 29 March 2008 with H&H Classics at the National Motorcycle Museum, the low mileage and proven authenticity means this resplendent limited-edition city slicker could fetch as much as £8,000 for a fashion-conscious wannabe fan.