I'm sure Frankie's looking right down over my shoulder as my guardian angel and saying, 'Angie, that's your car'

Angela Pakruda

At the time, the owner was said to have anonymously donated it to raise funds for the families of those killed in the World Trade Center attacks.

But now Anna May Capelli, from New Jersey, has shed her anonymity to start court proceedings, saying she expected the car to fetch twice the amount it sold for.

"It's not my problem that she [Capelli] didn't get what she expected," said Angela Pakruda, whose husband, Michael, bought the vehicle for her.

"I'm sure Frankie's looking right down over my shoulder as my guardian angel and saying, 'Angie, that's your car.'"

Superstar's fan

Superior Court Judge Elijah Miller has signed an injunction meaning the green 1986 sedan must be kept at the auction house until the matter is settled.

Another hearing is scheduled for Friday.

The car had been bought by Mr Pakruda, a retired New Jersey tugboat worker, at the end of November.

Mrs Pakruda had been a fan of the late superstar since the age of 10 and had been in the audience at Sinatra's early New York radio show, Lucky Strike Light Up Time.

The car was originally bought in Beverly Hills in 1985 and issued to "F Sinatra and Nathan Golden", his chauffeur, according to registration documents.

Bigger sales

Funds from the sale were set to go to the United Way charity, according to information at the time of the sale.

Some of Sinatra's other cars have previously been sold for higher amounts.

His 1989 Jaguar XJS sold for $160,000 (�113,600) in 1998, while his 1956 Thunderbird has been sold for $150,000 (�106,500).

A number of cars were left to Nancy Sinatra, the singer's wife, after her husband died in 1998.