The 22nd of this month marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F Kennedy, former president of the U. S. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, reining in the title from 1961 until his assassination in Dallas in November 1963.
He was famously shot in a convertible, a white 1963 Lincoln Continental. The car smoothly cruised the president, his wife and the Texas Governor from a breakfast speech. It was in this vehicle that the president was surprisingly driven to his death, causing great speculation over who the assassin was in front of thousands of spectators.
The vehicle has been displayed at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich for many years. A clone of the historic motor; the SS-100-X was recently up for auction in Belgium having attracted a great deal of interest coming up to the 50th anniversary of the presidents death.
There are a few differences between the car the president died in and the clone that was produced just two years on. The clone was of a SS-100-X but was not built as a convertible but a limousine. It was made by Cincinnati in Ohio, coachbuilder Hess and Eisenhardt but was a 1963 model where as the presidents was a 1961. However, they are both powered by a 40 cubic inch V8 engine.
The replica never actually offered its seats to JFK but does still encapsulate that sense of historic narrative that makes the car so inquisitive. It was expected to bring $220,000 but did not meet its reserve.
The knowledge of this addition to the attainable motor market caused great intrigue across the world but unfortunately did not obtain the financial interest appropriate to see the sale through.
