Hollywood muscle: Nicholas Cage to sell Hemi 'Cuda at Arizona auction

He memorably played a car thief in Gone in Sixty Seconds, but actor Nicholas Cage is offering his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda through legal means: the Hemi hardtop is one of the headliners at Russo and Steele's annual auction in Arizona later this month.

Detroit muscle via Hollywood--and it's rare too. Cage's car is No. 128 of just 284 Hemi-powered 1970 'Cudas with a four-speed manual transmission.

It has a "triple black" color scheme, meaning the shade adorns the sheetmetal, bucket seats and hardtop, just as when it rolled off the assembly line in November 1969.

The powertrain has been completely rebuilt, and the 426 Hemi has been broken in and tuned on a dyno; it's said to make 425 hp.

Other features include the iconic pistol-grip shifter, super track pack, shaker and rallye instrument cluster and wheels.

The car's history is backed up by the window sticker, owner's manual, a record of previous owners and receipts. It was inspected in 2005, and organizers say the numbers were found to match completely.

And in case there's any doubt who owned the car before the final bidder--the Barracuda comes with a title bearing the name of its current owner--Cage.

The event runs Jan. 14-18 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Nearly 600 cars are expected to cross the block, and organizers are hopeful to equal last year's attendance of 35,000--12,000 of whom were bidders.

Racing fans will want to check out a Chevy Monte Carlo SS that Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to victory in March 2004 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It's refurbished, and the dashboard is signed by the driver.

Also on the block: a 1927 Bugatti Type 37 Grand, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing.

By Greg Migliore