I never really thought about Bruce Springsteen as a car guy, but looking back over his catalog, it should have been obvious – “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” “Racing in the Street” – those are more than just casual nods to car culture, they’re the work of someone who’s had his hands under a hood.
Literally, as it turns out, because according to his autobiography Songs, “In ’70s New Jersey, the car was still a powerful image. That summer I bought my first set of wheels for two thousand dollars. It was a ’57 Chevy with dual, four-barrel carbs, a Hurst on the floor and orange flames spread across the hood.” He says all the songs I mentioned were either actually written while driving it, or inspired by it.
He didn’t actually hold onto it all that long – he was rapidly becoming famous and unloaded the recognizable ride in 1976 in favor of a ’60 Vette, which he drives to this day. The Bel Air ended up on loan to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but the owner has now decided to sell.
Gotta Have Rock and Roll’s “Rock & Roll Pop Culture” auction will have the car and other memorabilia starting today, with bidding opening at $390,000. Yes, it is the first known Springsteen car ever offered at auction, but it’s been 35 years since he did his thing in it, and does his name really carry that much of a premium on a car? Because if you really want a streetrod ’57 Bel Air convertible, you could have about 10 of them for the opening bid.
The lot does also include issues of Time, Newsweek and magazines featuring the car, as well as “an extremely detailed color book compiled by the owner and noted Bruce Springsteen historian, Michael Crane, including all documentation and known history of the vehicle.”
What do you think, New Jersey? How much is the Boss’s car worth to you?
