Cars with presidential history don't come up for auction all that often, despite the fact that there are so many with White House connections. The history of most of these cars is well documented, and most of them now sit in various presidential libraries or trade hands among collectors of limousines and other historical cars.

But anything tied to the presidency of John F. Kennedy tends to inspire plenty of interest from collectors of presidential items.

In a couple of weeks Bonhams Auctions will offer just such a item, when the 1963 Lincoln Continental dubbed "Limo One," the car used by John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy on the morning of November 22, 1963, rolls across the auction block.

This is the car that drove the pair, along with Texas governor John Connally, to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth on November 22, having been loaned by local car dealer Bill Golightly to the president and his entourage as an official vehicle during their time in Fort Worth on November 21 and 22. So this is not the car in which Kennedy was shot that was a different, black Continental open-top car used by the Secret Service.

Bonhams

"The President and Jackie Kennedy woke up at the Fort Worth Hotel the morning of November 22, 1963, made a call to their hosts to thank them for the care they had been shown, and were transported by this brand new white Lincoln Continental that had been loaned by local car dealer Bill Golightly to a breakfast where President spoke to a sizable crowd in a light rain," Bonhams notes. "People had turned out in large numbers to see the President and First Lady, and as they proceeded to Carswell Air Force Base to board Air Force One, they took their time, basking in the warm reception. Exiting the vehicle, they boarded the waiting plane for the fateful trip to Dallas where the death of the President would shock a nation."

This was was then returned to Golightly, and was sold to David Pelham of Dallas the following year, and three years later was sold to L. H. Hough, joining the Museum of American Tragedy. This is where it remained until 1998 until it was sold to John Reznikoff, who kept it for a number of years until the car changed hands once again at an auction titled Camelot: 50 Years After Dallas, in 2013.

The car has been restored by Lincoln specialist Baker Restoration of Putnam, Connecticut, and has received a replacement engine as well as a repaint, but the red leather interior has been kept original. Evidently, the car had aged a bit even in the care of a museum, which often happens, and needed more than a simple recommissioning.

Bonhams

"This lot is being offered for sale as a Collectible," Bonhams notes. "As such, this lot may not be operable as a vehicle, suitable for any particular purpose (including transportation), registrable or 'street legal' and/or may not pass any applicable smog or similar state or local mechanical vehicle certification."

This Lincoln is estimated to bring between $300,000 and $500,000 on auction day, representing a fairly liberal range that reflects the unpredictable nature of such auction lots. The car changed hands for $318,000 when Reznikoff parted with it at the Camelot: 50 Years After Dallas auction back in 2013, on which we reported at the time. The work carried out by Putnam took place prior to that auction as well, so the car likely has not changed condition in the past seven years.

Whether it will be able to reach that mark again, or perhaps exceed it greatly, remains to be seen. This year is not the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death, but interest in his personal items, a number of which will be offered by Bonhams, remains high. The full auction lot list is perhaps worth a look for all the other items that aren't presidential limousines there are plenty of much more affordable but much smaller items there.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

Read the rest here:

JFK Convertible Heads to Auction for Second Time in a Decade - Autoweek