Earning the prestigious title of The King Of Rock ‘N’ Roll is no small accomplishment, and not many musicians can claim they have a fan base the size of Elvis Presley. Speaking of size, very few collectors can say they own a piece of Elvis memorabilia that measures 41 feet in length, either, so this transformed 1970 Cadillac Eldorado here on eBay should be appealing for fans of The King who subscribe to the bigger is always better mindset. The story goes that auto builder Jay Ohrberg, whose creations include movie cars such as the Panthermobile for The Pink Panther, KITT for the Knight Rider film, and the famous DeLorean in Back To The Future, is responsible for creating this guitar-shaped Cadillac for Elvis. Somehow, it made its way from the United States to France, and it’s presently in the city of Orleans, about 75 miles southwest of Paris. You’ll need a viable transportation method, lots of space, and at least USD 11,420 handy to place the opening bid, which has yet to be made as of this writing. The seller is also considering offers, so maybe you two can work out a deal for a fixed amount.
Mitchell G., thanks for sending in the fun tip here! Surprisingly, there’s not as much information available about this unusual novelty as one would think, especially considering the Elvis ties. What can be found seems to indicate that Jay Ohrberg started with a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado, which he sawed in half, then fabricated a tube-style steel structure for the center area, fashioned to simulate the neck of a guitar. The rear half of the Caddy was formed into a guitar-shaped body, thanks to the use of fiberglass, with the soundhole containing a single seat. It’s said to have taken Jay around two years to complete this creation, and I can’t imagine it wasn’t a difficult task to get the steering, brakes, throttle, and transmission operable for the driver from such a far distance away from the front. I couldn’t find any photos, but rumor has it that Elvis Presley drove this on at least one occasion to a concert he was performing in Las Vegas, so if any readers have photos available showing The King behind the wheel, please share!
Even less documented is what happened post-Vegas, and how this ended up on another continent and in this state of disrepair. The seller mentions that a 500 cubic inch V8 is still present, the massive engine that powered all Eldorados for ’70, but the car is non-rolling and needs renovation. I think the owner is correct in suggesting that the main purpose here would be primarily for a large museum, decoration, or to park in front of a large business for attention. The neck area will surely need to be restored with some new strings and frets fabricated, along with rust repairs on the front section, and a fresh coat of pink paint all over. The cool factor is high and the association with Elvis noteworthy, but considering the size and this being a non-driver, I’m seeing a fairly limited audience here. What are your perceptions about this Jay Ohrberg creation, and its present non-operational state?
Jay built a few appealing custom cars, my opinion which is just that, this car isn’t one of them. Creative yeah it is but I am sure it takes more than is practical to turn this thing to operate it. One seat so you can’t enjoy the ridiculous ride with anyone else. Not only that looks like the front half wasn’t under cover. ( Go figure) But hey it’s a custom Caddy!!
Send it to Graceland.
Here’s a photo of the complete car in it’s prime. Being a musician I find it cool and so Elvis, but certainly not practical and probably a tremendous waste of money back in the day.
I wonder if that model has fared any better than the car?
When I saw that car,I thought of Aretha Franklin.
Regardless of how she may have fared over the years, I’m sure she’s someone’s grandmother these days.
Probably as dilapidated as the car.
PLEASE! Show Aretha a little R E S P E C T! On The Freeway of Love in HER Pink Cadillac! 👍
Looking at the hood alone, was this creation stored under water?
Imagine attempting to store this…airplane hangar?
at his income (probably way more than JL’s in relative terms) he could have a place to easily fit this. Jay has well over 100 I assume (may B even MORE motorcycles) in expensive Hollywood.
Just when I am beginning think I have seen it all and then, I open up to the BarnFind of the day.
I never thought I’d say it but for my Too Much is NEVER enough philosophy regarding OTT excessively chromed upscale Luxury vehicles, I must admit This IS way too much of not enough! Definitely an El do Oh No and totally CADILLACKING in every way. 😉
I was so looking forward to your take on this aboration.
Located in France, no bids.
Pull the engine and reduce all the weight from the front, setup a 500 Cu in blown big block behind the driver with wheelie bars, paint it black with flames and you have the new….”rock and roll wheel stander” to take to dragstrips. With “Eruption” by Mr Van Halen blasting over the PA system while you make your runs!
It sounds like it is out of tune. Perhaps it needs a tune up…
You’ll need to cut it in half, again. To ship it anywhere.
Looks like it broke a string…
…..how do you say in French…..no sale monsoiur ?
Non Mèrci Tim. 👋
Imagine…tuning that thing
Does it come with the case? Or just a 40 foot gig-bag?
lol!
I wouldn’t fret over it…
I wouldn’t Fret none if I knew what a Fretnone was! Sorry, I just can’t help myself! 😔 PLEASE 🎵 Don’t be
cruel 🎶 to an old fool? 🎵 😉 Just Pickin and Grinnin.
Needs a who lotta burning 🔥 luv to weld it back together..
Hey … I Saw an advert for a really quiet guitar on barnfinds ………..
“No strings attached.” just bring lots of money 😎
so …How do you make a guitar player’s car more aerodynamic?
Change the hood out….
It gives a whole new meaning to the term “tuneup”.
Comments are great. Laughter is a good thing.
I’m guessing the thing was parted somewhere in the middle and shipped in a container- With some carefull packing, both halves could be shipped in a single 40′ high cube.
Looks like “Hollywood Star Cars” on that sticker on the side in the auction pics, which is not in the old picture with the model above. There is a “Hollywood Star Cars” museum in Gatlinburg TN that opened in 1996. Maybe this monstrosity resided there for awhile?
Jay had a facility in Hollywood in the ’80s, displayed his cars and built numerous of them. 6000 Hollywood Blvd, long gone.
Must be fun’ to drive…..
Wow! The more I look at it, the more interesting it looks! When I first saw it, I thought it was a toy car in the first picture. Then looking at it from the side, kind of reminds me of a pinewood derby Cub Scout project. Then looking at it from the top, I was thinking that if someone took an old school dragster, they could make one of these And that would be pretty cool.
I do not have a “hunk a hunk of burning love for this car. Sorry I had to join in. This is just plain foolishness. Just be because you can, doesn’t mean you should. HOWEVER! If someone pays you stupid money to do it and you don’t get hurt. WHY NOT? Just a waste of a 500 cube Caddy en gine.
I grew up in Memphis with Elvis, lived a few blocks from his first house on Audubon Drive. Saw him a few times on the street with his motorcycle, before the Coronel made him give it up. I’ve never heard of this car, and although it may be a “tribute to Elvis” I doubt he ever knew about it.
Maybe Jay Leno has space for it in his hanger/garage.
I tried to submit this one to BF and wasn’t surprised to find out that it had already been submitted by someone else.
This is a perfect BF conversation piece and will foster at least 50+ comments.
what else can we call it?……Cad-O-Caster?
Tuning can be be just as much of an issue as TURNING!
Maybe this is the car Jerry Clower was talking about when he said you have to take it to the airport to turn it around!
Jerry Clower. He was one funny guy.
That’s a Hunka-Hunk of Burn’n Crap.
I see more Never Never than any Grace here.
I can imagine the scene with Jay continually asking Elvis “You sure you wanna do this? You sure?”
“Elvis come on, stop screwing around! Really, your sure?”
Paging David Lee Roth.
Should go into a museum of modern art.
The old country song comes to mind – Give me 40 acres and I’ll turn this rig around, it’s the easiest (in this case the only) way I’ve found!
jdc that wasn’t very nice to say, how would you feel if someone said that about your mom or wife. i don’t think you would like it.
This thing (or was it a copy?) was used for a long time as a decoration on the roof of a Tex-Mex located by the sea, in Villeneuve-Loubet, between Nice and Cannes, on the French Riviera. I find its price clearly exaggerated.
Ha no bids and starting at 10 Grand I don’t think it will go anywhere
It’ll probably cost 10 grand just to get it here.
Please Elvis, tell me no.
I wonder if this car is electric?
No, It’s acoustic! (lol)
Those Fenders need replacing LOL