Al Capone’s Cadillac goes under hammer
After being sold for $341,000 by RM Sotheby’s auctioneers in 2012, the car that belonged to notorious Chicago gangster Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone has gone back on the block.
Offered by Celebritycars. com of Chicago, the Cadillac Town sedan has plated steel armour, thick bulletproof glass windows all round, and side windows that can be cranked up to allow a 5cm gap at the bottom — apparently for gunmen to use a Thompson submachine gun.
The back window opens as well which is thought to allow firing from the back seat.
Other features include a coat of paint in a colour identical to that of the period’s police vehicles and being equipped with a police radio, lights and siren.
The flamboyant criminal passed away in 1947.
MISSED BY OFFICIALS
The Cadillac Town sedan, one of many cars reportedly owned by the mob boss, has only 1,787km on the odometer and is one of the first armoured cars known to have been made.
Tracing its history, it is thought to have been missed by officials who were gathering the gangster’s possessions, since it was stashed away in a separate garage in Chicago. According to the listing, it was acquired from a person in Chicago who it is believed was trying to sell it off for the mob boss. The Caddy, which had its V8 engine boosted to reach speeds of 177km/h, was then housed at museums.
It is expected that this special Cadillac with its rather colourful first owner will fetch more than the $1m being asked for by celebritycars.com.