Two of JFK’s Lincolns Up for Auction, Including Last Car He Used Before the Assassination

The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) in 1963 in Dallas in a convertible 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine made the Secret Service ban presidential cabriolets forever. However, the black Lincoln Continental wasn’t the only convertible President Kennedy had used during that sad day.

In the morning of November 22, 1963, JFK, Jacqueline Kennedy and Texas governor John Connally were driven on the streets of Forth Worth in a white 1963 Lincoln Continental on their way to Carswell Air Force Base, where they boarded the flight to Dallas.

This car has surfaced on the RR Auction’s website and will be available from a starting bid of $50,000 (€36,890) at the JFK 50th Anniversary Auction that opens October 17 and ends October 24. It turns out that the car was loaned out by a car dealer for use by the president while he was in Forth Worth.

Restored by Lincoln specialist Baker Restoration, the car features a new engine, bodywork and new paint. However, most of the interior is in its original condition, including the red leather upholstery. The auction price also includes ownership documentation and photos from that morning showing the Kennedys in the car. This was basically the last car JFK used before his assassination later that day.

The auction also features another Lincoln that was used by the president, a black armored 1960 Continental limousine from the Kennedy White House motor pool. Listed for $25,000 (€18,445), the car features a divider window, passenger air controls, power steering and brakes and a two-way telephone in the back seat.

RR Auction says most of the body has been restored but the interior is in its original condition, with beige leather seats and matching carpeting. The Continental limo was leased to the White House for $500 a year from Ford and was used for JFK’s personal needs in Washington, DC.  

By Dan Mihalascu

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