An iconic 41-foot, guitar-shaped pink Cadillac once driven by Elvis Presley in the early 1970s has been acquired by collector Michael Dezer and will take up permanent residence at his Orlando Auto Museum, museum officials said. The custom 1970 Cadillac Eldorado, long considered a rare piece of American music and automotive culture, will undergo a restoration expected to exceed $1 million and take more than a year.
The vehicle began life as a standard 1970 Eldorado before car designer Jay Ohrberg transformed it into the oversized guitar-shaped showpiece. The conversion kept the engine at the front while a long, narrow extension evoking a guitar neck connected to a rear cockpit with a single seat. Original details included tuners on the hood, strings running the length of the body, pronounced tailfins and a transparent dome over the rear seat.
Museum curator J.J. Morales said portions of those features have survived decades of exposure. When the car resurfaced after years out of public view, it was found in a French junkyard with rust, body damage, worn seats, exposed wood and missing parts under the hood. The vehicle appeared on eBay for roughly $11,000 before Dezer acquired it and brought it back to the United States, Morales said. The museum did not disclose Dezer’s purchase price.
The car will sit in Dezer’s Orlando Auto Museum, which houses more than 2,500 vehicles valued collectively at over $200 million, and is located inside the 850,000-square-foot Dezerland Park on International Drive. Museum staff required 15 people to move the 41-foot car backstage at Dezerland Park; the engine currently will not run because the distributor and other components are missing.
Despite its condition, several distinctive elements remain, including musical-note trim along the sides, oversized tailfins, the single rear seat that once sat beneath a clear dome and a Tennessee license plate registered in 1977 that reads "1-ELVIS." One side of the body still bears a logo with a tongue symbol flanked by two figures and the name "Hollywood Star Cars," a mark associated with Ohrberg’s custom creations.
Dezer said the museum was proud to bring the car back to the U.S. and make it available for fans to see up close. Morales said the museum will not hide the vehicle during restoration; visitors will be able to observe the work in real time. The museum plans a public unveiling after several weeks to months, allowing guests to view the restoration process as it progresses.
Once fully restored, the Cadillac will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit dedicated to Jay Ohrberg’s creations, which includes vehicles built for film, television and private collections. The exhibit will feature Ohrberg’s "The American Dream," a limousine reported to be 100 feet and 1.5 inches long and recognized as one of the longest limousines in the world.
Dezerland Park hosts attractions beyond the museum, including an indoor go-kart track, laser tag, pinball, a trampoline park, mini golf, a Cinemark theater, boutique bowling and themed dining. Museum officials directed fans seeking more information or planning visits to Dezerland Park’s website.
Museum staff and restorers will document and photograph the process as they work to rebuild or recreate missing panels and components. Morales said many parts must be remade or fabricated from scratch, and that the museum does not expect the restoration to be a quick project given the car’s size and the extent of deterioration acquired during decades outdoors.
The acquisition returns a distinctive artifact of rock-and-roll history to public view after years overseas, and places it among a broad collection of historic and pop-culture vehicles at one of the nation’s largest private auto museums.