Leake Auctions blows whistle on Elvis’ Cuda
Leake Auctions has discovered a 1971 Cuda reported to have been purchased by Elvis actually has a bogus title, and has blown the whistle on its sale well before its upcoming Dan Kruse-Leake Collector Car Show & Auction March 21 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
It was a good news/bad news moment recently for the Leake Auction Company. The bad news is that the company will not be auctioning off any cars that formerly belong to Elvis Presley. The good news, however, is that Leake discovered a car reported to have been purchased by the "King" actually had a bogus title, and blew the whistle well before its upcoming Dan Kruse-Leake Collector Car Show & Auction March 21 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The sale was expected to be highlighted by the inclusion of a 1971 Plymouth Cuda originally purchased by and titled to Elvisy. The story was that Elvis bought the car in Louisville in November of 1971 as a gift to a female friend. The current owner purchased the Cuda in March of 2008 from a car collector dealership in Miami. A mechanic then supposedly discovered what appeared to be the title to the vehicle between the carpet and the floor pan.
Leake found holes in the story, though, and set the record straight. "Upon further phone calls and research regarding the validity of the title to a 1971 Cuda purportedly owned by Elvis Presley, research confirms that the title is fake," a company statement said.
“We have now received additional information that confirms the title is counterfeit. It was never the intent of Dan Kruse Classic or Leake Auction Company to mislead anyone about the purported Elvis ownership of this car,” stated Richard Sevenoaks, president of Leake Auction Company. “Great efforts are made to ascertain the authenticity of celebrity ownership on any cars. We regret any confusion this may have caused.”
The will be plenty of legitimate iron among the 300 cars expected to cross the block in Alamodome, however.
The auction will also feature a 1936 Lincoln V12 K Model Boat Tail Speedster. Among the highlights will be a 1936 Lincoln V12 K Model Boat Tail Speedster built for Howard Hughes to be used as his personal limo. Also up for sale is one of John Schneider's personal 1969 "General Lee: Dodge Chargers. The car can be seen in the “Behind the Scenes with Bo” DVD. Schneider used this car for charities and photo shoots. In 1998 it was on display in Floyd Garrett’s Muscle Car Museum in Tennessee. Schneider has also agreed to personally speak with any serious, prospective buyer, via phone or e-mail, about the car’s authenticity.
For more information, visit www.LeakeCar.com or call 1-800-722-9942.
