A limo which John F. Kennedy rode on the morning of his assassination has sold for $375,000 at auction.
The 1963 Lincoln Continental was used to chauffeur the President, Jackie Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally on the morning of the fateful day of November 22, 1963.
They travelled in it through Forth Worth before boarding a flight to Dallas where Kennedy was assassinated in another Lincoln Continental later that day.
The second limo is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
A limo which John F. Kennedy rode on the morning of his assassination has sold for $375,000 at auction
The white 1963 Lincoln Continental was the last car used to safely chauffeur the President before his death
The president is seen here traveling through Fort Worth in the open-top car in 1963 as he made his way to an airbase to board a flight to Dallas
The white Lincoln up for auction was not part of the President’s fleet of security vehicles but had been loaned to Connally for the visit.
It was later sold to a private customer and changed hands many times before it was bought by Jim Warlick, a collector of presidential memorabilia at an auction in 2013.
He offered it at Bonhams American Presidential Experience auction where it had its engine replaced and repainted, but the red interior remains original.
The auctioneers had expected it to fetch $500,000 but it ultimately sold for $375,000.
The auctioneers had expected the historic car to fetch $500,000 but it ultimately sold for $375,000
The car has received a new engine and has been repainted since although its red interior is original
A bulletproof Lincoln hardtop sedan also used by Kennedy for personal jaunts around Washington failed to find a buyer, but an Air Force One bomber jacket worn by the President reached $250,075.
Known as ‘Limo One’ the white Continental was used to transport the President and First Lady during their trip to Fort Worth after the four-door had been loaned out by local car dealer Bill Golightly.
Images from that morning show JFK standing in the car and waving at crowds as he departs.
The white Lincoln up for auction was not part of the President’s fleet of security vehicles but had been loaned to Connally for the visit
The second Lincoln car which went up for sale was used by JFK for personal errands from the White House.
The car was purchased by an acquaintance of JFK the year after his death.
It had previously been leased by the government from Ford for the president’s use for $500 a year.
The car was modified for the president’s use and included bulletproof doors, power steering and brakes, and passenger air controls.
It had some extra unusual features including a two-way phone.
The interior of this car also remains mainly the same but the body has been restored.
The projected price on this car had been between $200,000 and $300,000 but it failed to sell.
Also up for sale at the Bonhams auction Wednesday for around $300,000 is the bulletproof limo JFK used for personal jaunts around Washington, D.C., pictured above
JFK, First Lady Jackie Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally in the last car to transport the president safely in Fort Worth, Texas, on the morning of November 22, 1963
Despite the hit to the global economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the classic car market is still going strong according to Business Insider.
With the transition to all online auctions, some of the most expensive web-based car sales ever have been brokered by the likes of Bonhams in the past few months.
They included the June sale of a 2003 Ferrari Enzo sold for $2.6million, completed by RM Sotheby’s.
At the time it was the priciest car ever sold online but the record was broken again just three months later.
In September a 1966 Ferrari was sold through Gooding and Company for just over $3million.
JFK was later shot and killed as he traveled through Dallas in another convertible Lincoln Continental, pictured here. It change the security around a presidential car
That car, pictured, is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan
Kennedy often traveled in an open-top Lincoln Continental but his death transformed presidential cars.
They have now been completely redesigned to prioritize safety and security, and to enclose the president in more layers of armor and protection.
JFK’s successor Lyndon B. Johnson traveled in an armored Continental.
By Bush’s era, he was traveling in a Cadillac DeVille that was more like a tank than a car.
Current presidents travel in ‘The Beast’, first introduced for Obama’s inauguration in 2009.
The Cadillac Presidential Limousine weighs in at a massive 10 tons and comes with a formidable array of weapons and armory, as well as eight-inch walls and five-inch windows that are heavier than a commercial jet.