pontiac bonneville

JFK Ambulance Sold for $120,000 Despite Authenticity Doubts

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Avid Luxist readers may recognize this vintage ambulance from our article earlier this month. The 1963 Pontiac Bonneville is one of only a handful converted to an ambulance and commissioned by the U.S. Navy. It was said to have carried out the solemn duty of transporting the remains and bereaved of the assassinated president John F. Kennedy, and was slated for the auction block under the auspices of Barrett-Jackson at its recently-concluded auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The story sounded credible and straightforward enough, but before the auction took place, reports surfaced to question the authenticity of the vehicle's provenance. It seemed, according to the reports, that the vehicle that actually carried JFK's remains and grieving widow and brother from Andrews Air Force Base to Bethesda Naval Hospital was actually destroyed several years ago.

Authenticity notwithstanding, Barrett-Jackson elected to auction the vehicle just the same, where it promptly sold for a high bid of $120,000 – less than it probably would have fetched if not for the question of its provenance, but more than if it were indeed just an ordinary ambulance. The buyer stated her intentions to donate the car for display at the Smithsonian, but to make the story all the stranger, ended up reportedly selling it for little more than she paid for it to the daughter of a limousine collector in Colorado whose father is presently incarcerated for bribing Alaskan legislators.

Gallery: 1963 Pontiac Bonneville JFK ambulance

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Kennedy Ambulance up for Auction at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Few if any U.S. presidents have elicited the kind of following that JFK did in his life, and arguably even more so in his death. Collectors obsess over Kennedy memorabilia, and this will surely be one of the most coveted pieces.

The vehicle you see here – a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville ambulance commissioned by the Department of the Navy – was tasked with the solemn duty of transporting the slain president's casket (along with his widow and grieving brother who would vie to succeed him) from Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base to Bethesda Naval Hospital and then on to Capitol Hill.

Preserved in original condition, the vehicle will be going up for auction under the Barrett-Jackson gavel in Scottsale, Arizona, from January 17-23.

Gallery: 1963 Pontiac Bonneville JFK ambulance

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Tags: 1963 Pontiac Bonneville, 1963 Pontiac Bonneville JFK ambulance, barrett-jackson, jfk, john f. kennedy, kennedy, pontiac, pontiac bonneville