Bruce Springsteen's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible is selling on eBay.

Bidding on the car stands at $76,322 ahead of the December 20 close date.

Bruce Springsteen bought the Chevy just before he hit the big time

Springsteen bought the Chevy for just $2,000 in May 1975, shortly before the release of Born to Run - the record that launched his career.

He writes in his autobiography: "In '70's 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 sold it the following year, as it was too distinctive (replacing it with a more restrained 1960 Ford Corvette in black).

Although he only owned the Chevy for around a year, it remains a key part of his personal mythos. He was photographed with it in Time, Newsweek and Playboy in 1975.

It was also displayed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (as part of a major Springsteen exhibit) throughout 2010.

Springsteen's love of cars has informed much of his career.

They feature prominently in many of his songs, from Born to Run and Thunder Road to Racing in the Street and Pink Cadillac.

This is the only Springsteen car that has ever come up for auction.

It last sold for $468,000 in 2011, a sum it could well exceed this time round.