"God of the Costa del Sol", the late playboy and Marbella mayor Jesús Gil y Gil.

It was supposed to epitomise luxury, prosperity and power. Instead, it became a symbol of the heady mix of excess and corruption which for too long was synonymous with Marbella, Spain's glittering city of fun.

The Rolls-Royce Shining Spur was the pride and joy of the self-proclaimed "God of the Costa del Sol", the late playboy and Marbella mayor Jesús Gil y Gil.

Gil thought nothing of demanding that his taxpayers fork out for the £170,000 car which transported him to every civic function, "like a Pharaoh" as locals put it. But now, three years after his death, his Rolls has – like his corrupt reign – lost its allure. The car will be put up for auction later this year in an effort to draw a line under a long and seedy chapter in the city's history.

Gil was the overweight, foul-mouthed supporter of the former dictator General Franco who ruled Marbella for seven years until he was finally ousted for corruption. He had diverted £20m of public funds to finance the football team he owned, Atletico Madrid. He died in 2004.