The newest, pinkest addition to Orlando Auto Museum was a definite fixer-upper. But now the 41-foot, guitar-shaped 1970 Cadillac Eldorado with an Elvis Presley connection is ready to be admired by visitors to the Dezerland attraction.
It’s a novelty act, for certain, with frets and tuners and a seating capacity of one passenger. But current owner Michael Dezer, a South Florida developer and car collector, wanted the vehicle to be functional as well, Greg Osborne, project manager, said Thursday. There was damage and work to do when the car arrived in Orlando in September, he said.
“It was getting old and brittle, so it had huge holes in it and starting to rust out everywhere, so we had to refresh the fiberglass on it,” Osborne said.
Repair was done on the fender. The engine was seized, and one axle “wasn’t right,” he said, so “we had to rebuild the whole front of the car.” That work extended to the fins on the back, where taillights previously were merely decorative.
The refurbishment process included a trip to Colorado for engine parts, and there’s a fresh surprise under the hood. Parts have been painted gold.
“It needed to be, in my opinion, a gold glitter engine. So we got a gold metal flake engine in the car,” Osborne said.
The 41-foot car was temporarily parked in front of Dezerland, but visitors can now see it inside at the Orlando Auto Museum. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
That’s the Elvis factor at play. The car’s history includes an appearance with Presley in Las Vegas, but also a stretch in Europe. It spent years in a junkyard in France. Now it will be displayed in a prominent spot in Orlando’s tourist district.
The original modified car was designed by Jay Ohrberg, who has other models exhibited at the Orlando Auto Museum.
“We kind of reinvented the wheel, so to speak, because the technique that Mr. Ohrberg had in the original car, it worked out OK for what he did with it,” Osborne said. “But what we’re going to do with it, we needed something a bit more dependable, more sturdy, so we put a whole new braking system in it. Because everything runs through the shaft of the car, right, all your cables, your wiring.”
“1-Elvis” license plate on the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car, that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Mechanic Orlando Nuñez in the cockpit of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Mechanic Orlando Nuñez sits in the cockpit of the restored guitar-shaped car now at the Orlando Auto Museum. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Detail of the 450 horsepower V8 engine — Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Eldorado badge of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Cadillac badge of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
The 41-foot car was temporarily parked in front of Dezerland, but visitors can now see it inside at the Orlando Auto Museum. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Matching painted hubcaps on the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
A guitar-shaped car with an Elvis Presley connection is now part of Orlando Auto Museum, an attraction inside Dezerland Park on Orlando’s International Drive. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Media preview of the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Autobody technician Richardson Sanabria poses with the restored guitar-shaped car now on display in the Orlando Auto Museum. Sanabria spent more than 30 hours painting the car during the restoration. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Left to Right, Greg Orborne, mechanic Orlando Nuñez, and auto-body technician Richardson Sanabria pose for a photo with the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
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“1-Elvis” license plate on the restored Elvis guitar-shaped car that is on display in the Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Now it runs and can be moved from place to place. A worker drove it from outside the front of Dezerland Park to its designated spot inside the attraction Thursday morning. It has new sounds to go with its looks.
“We went out and got a nice deep, throaty exhaust system put underneath of it and the engine,” Osborne said.
It can move right along and handle corners, despite its length, he said.
“We’re pushing just right about 400 horsepower. … So we got a lot of power. It’ll burn the tires all the way around the loop, if you want to,” he said.
“Once you get used to the length, you can drive it anywhere you want comfortably.”
Mechanic Orlando Nuñez sits in the cockpit of the restored guitar-shaped car now at the Orlando Auto Museum. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Dezer’s purchase price of the guitar car hasn’t been announced. His Orlando Auto Museum has more than 2,500 rare and famous vehicles, and they are reportedly worth more than $200 million. The collection includes big-screen star cars, international rarities, antiques, military vehicles and the world’s longest limo, an Ohrberg creation.
The attraction has special pricing of $19.35 (think Presley’s birth year) on Jan. 8 and 9. Tickets are available online. On Jan. 10-11, visitors dressed as Elvis can receive a free ticket to the museum and can buy up to three more tickets for $19.35 apiece. Other Presley-inspired activities are planned for the latter two dates at Dezerland Park as part of its Rock & Roll Weekend.