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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Kennedy Ambulance Bid To $120K
Paradise Valley, Az., collector at Barrett-Jackson steps up because she's "an all-American girl" and the price was so low.
The 1963 Pontiac Bonneville ambulance said to have carried the body of President JOhn F. Kennedy, comes up on stage for auction. (Photo: Douglas Jason)
Before a hushed crowd in the cavernous bidding tent at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction, the 1963 Pontiac Bonneville ambulance that purportedly carried the body of slain President John Kennedy was hammered sold for $120,000.
The gray Navy ambulance, surrounded by controversy regarding its authenticity, was bought by Addison Brown of Paradise Valley, Az., who wasn’t yet born when the assassination occurred.
“I’m an all-American girl,” Brown said after the sale. “I know that this car represents a huge day in U.S. history.”
She said that initially, she will house the car in her private automobile museum, then possibly find a dignified place for it to be kept.
“I’d like to see it in the Smithsonian or something like that,” Brown said. “I promise everyone, the American people, that it will have a great home.”
Brown believes in the authenticity of the car because of all the confirming research performed by the seller and auction officials.
She hadn’t planned to buy the car, Brown added, but was surprised that the bidding was so low. She and a group of friends had been estimating beforehand what the price would be.
“I said, if it sells for $125,000, it’s going home with me,” she said.
The final result, including the 10 percent bidder fee, was $137,500 for the ambulance.
Steve Davis, president of the collector-car auction, spoke before the sale about the doubters and “conspiracy theorists” who challenge the validity of the car’s history. Davis said that Barrett-Jackson officials, after practically taken the car apart, are certain that it has not been tampered with since it was built and are as sure as possible that it is the ambulance that carried the President’s casket.
“We’re not going to solve all the mysteries from that horrible day,” Davis said. “Really, what you’re buying is part of the mystery that it represents.”
After shushing the crowd of bidders off stage, Davis appeared with display boards that show some of the extensive research that the owner, Kansas physician John Jensen, had performed to confirm the car’s provenance.
Auction officials held a press conference the day before the ambulance sale to try to dispel rumors that the car was fraudulent.
Davis asked the crowd of thousands in the packed auction to treat the sale with dignity by not applauding or cheering as the bidding went on.
“Never in our (Barrett-Jackson) history have we ever had anything like this,” he said. “As far as we’re concerned, it represents a very special moment in our history.”
Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at
The gray Navy ambulance, surrounded by controversy regarding its authenticity, was bought by Addison Brown of Paradise Valley, Az., who wasn’t yet born when the assassination occurred.
“I’m an all-American girl,” Brown said after the sale. “I know that this car represents a huge day in U.S. history.”
She said that initially, she will house the car in her private automobile museum, then possibly find a dignified place for it to be kept.
“I’d like to see it in the Smithsonian or something like that,” Brown said. “I promise everyone, the American people, that it will have a great home.”
Brown believes in the authenticity of the car because of all the confirming research performed by the seller and auction officials.
She hadn’t planned to buy the car, Brown added, but was surprised that the bidding was so low. She and a group of friends had been estimating beforehand what the price would be.
“I said, if it sells for $125,000, it’s going home with me,” she said.
The final result, including the 10 percent bidder fee, was $137,500 for the ambulance.
Steve Davis, president of the collector-car auction, spoke before the sale about the doubters and “conspiracy theorists” who challenge the validity of the car’s history. Davis said that Barrett-Jackson officials, after practically taken the car apart, are certain that it has not been tampered with since it was built and are as sure as possible that it is the ambulance that carried the President’s casket.
“We’re not going to solve all the mysteries from that horrible day,” Davis said. “Really, what you’re buying is part of the mystery that it represents.”
After shushing the crowd of bidders off stage, Davis appeared with display boards that show some of the extensive research that the owner, Kansas physician John Jensen, had performed to confirm the car’s provenance.
Auction officials held a press conference the day before the ambulance sale to try to dispel rumors that the car was fraudulent.
Davis asked the crowd of thousands in the packed auction to treat the sale with dignity by not applauding or cheering as the bidding went on.
“Never in our (Barrett-Jackson) history have we ever had anything like this,” he said. “As far as we’re concerned, it represents a very special moment in our history.”
Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at
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