Car auction 'thrills' Elton John

This 1956 Bentley was among the cars up for auction

LONDON, England -- Sir Elton John has auctioned 20 luxury classic cars that he did not have time to enjoy for £1.95 million ($2.75 million).

The sale at Christie's in London on Tuesday raised almost twice the initial pre-sale estimate.

"When the bidding kept going up and up way above the estimates, I was both thrilled and surprised," said Sir Elton, who followed the sale from Atlanta, Georgia, where he is currently touring.

"There's obviously a lot of money to be made in second-hand cars."

A Christie's spokeswoman told Reuters the atmosphere at the sale had been "absolutely electric," adding: "We had to use two sale rooms, there were so many bidders." It was the biggest sale of a car collection belonging to a celebrity.

Sir Elton, whose love of classic cars dates back to the early 1970s, when he swapped his Ford Escort for an Aston Martin, held on to eight cars in his collection.

In an interview with Christie's prior to the sale, the singer said practical considerations had motivated his decision to put so many of his prized wheels under the hammer.

"I'm away so much and they don't get driven. I'd rather people had pleasure out of them.

"It's a collection that I've really loved collecting and it's hard ... I'm sad about it going but you have to cut ties loose."

Jaguar jewel

The most expensive sale was a 1993 Jaguar XJ220 that fetched £235,000 ($332,504), far above the projected range of £130,000 ($183,938) and £160,000 ($226,386). The car has a top speed of 213 mph and only 852 miles on the clock.

The second biggest bid of the night -- £223,000 ($315,525) -- was for a 1973 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI fitted with a £28,000 ($39,618), 36-speaker stereo system that once blew the rear window out because it was so loud.

The glass in the car, valued at around £110,000 ($155,640), was reinforced as a result.

Among other classics sold was an Aston Martin painted in black, red and yellow -- the colours of the Watford Football Club of which Sir Elton is a devoted fan.

Carey Wallace, Christie's rock and pop specialist, said Sir Elton called the car the "Beast" because of the way it roared.

Wallace said the cars were kept in heated garages by a fleet manager and were maintained so they were always ready to be driven at Sir Elton's whim.

Although Sir Elton has driven all the cars, his chauffeur often drives him because it is "safer" when listening to music, Wallace said.

A Ferrari Testarossa -- given to the singer on his 40th birthday by his record company in the U.S. -- also went under the gavel.

A silver 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Fastback fetched £196,000 ($277,322), almost quadruple its initial estimate.

Sir Elton, known for his flamboyant taste in clothes and spending sprees, described his experience getting behind the wheel of his luxury classics by saying "once you've driven a great car, you never want to go back."