Al Capone's Armored Cadillac for Auction on July 28

A 1928 CadillacCadillacUnited States of America, 1902 > present79 models
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V8 Town Sedan that was owned by Al Capone and armored for his protection is up for auction at RM Auctions Concours d’Elegance of America in Plymouth, Michigan, on July 28. 

The car has provenance back to 1932. Before that things are slightly murky. The car was not part of the IRS audit in 1931 that landed Capone in jail, but documentation shows that the license plate was registered to Capone's wife and was stored at her brother's (Capone's brother-in-law) Cadillac dealership. It was sold to a carnival family in 1932 who kept it for a year and then sold to a man who displayed the car at the Manchester Fun Fair in England.

The armor was installed when the car was brand new by a body shop that worked on Capone's cars. It is among the earliest armored cars known to exist. Other modifications include bullet-resistant windows with heavy-duty springs to raise and lower them quicker than usual. The rear windows that would drop quickly to allow occupants to quickly shoot at would-be assailants. Extra glass was added to the bottom of the windows that hid a circular hole to shoot from. It has a 341 cubic inch (5.6 liter) L-head V8 with 90hp. RM estimates it will sell for between $300,000 and $500,000.

Other cars set to be auctioned include a 1935 Chrysler AirstreamChrysler Airflow 8United States of America, 1934 > 19341 photo
and a 1936 V16 CadillacCadillac V16United States of America, 1937 > present. The auction is mostly made up of 1950s and earlier American cars with some European classics thrown in. You can see the complete auction listing here or even flip through the actual auction catalog. Personally my two favorites of the cars offered are the 1948 Hudson Commodore Eight Custom Station Wagon and 1958 Cadillac Series 62 Hardtop Coupe.

Source: Autoblog