Convertible JFK rode in on the morning of his assassination may fetch up to $500,000 at auction 

The last limo to safely transport President John F. Kennedy before his assassination is expected to reach up to $500,000 at auction this week. 

The 1963 Lincoln Continental that JFK and First Lady Jackie Kennedy traveled in on the morning of November 22, 1963, as they went to a Fort Worth Airbase to get a flight to Dallas will go up for sale on October 14. 

The 46-year-old president was later shot and killed as he traveled through Dallas in another convertible Lincoln Continental. That car is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. 

Also up for grabs at Wednesday’s auction by Bonhams, with a price tag of $300,000, is the bulletproof limo JFK used for personal jaunts around Washington, D.C.  

The last limo to safely transport President John F. Kennedy before he was assassinated is expected to reach up to $500,000 at auction. Pictured,  the First Lady entering the car in 1963

The president is seen here traveling through Fort Worth in the open-top car in 1963

The president is seen here traveling through Fort Worth in the open-top car in 1963

The white Lincoln Continental is being put up for auction by Bonhams on October 14

The white Lincoln Continental is being put up for auction by Bonhams on October 14

Known as ‘Limo One’ as it was used to transport the President and First Lady during their trip to Fort Worth, the white four-door had been loaned out by the U.S. government from local car dealer Bill Golightly. 

They were accompanied by Texas Governor John Connally as they made their final trip in the car to leave the city, where the doomed president had made a speech just hours before. 

Images from that morning show JFK standing in the car and waving at crowds as he departs.  

Since its time as a presidential car, the Lincoln has been repainted and had its engine replaced but its red leather seats and much of the interior remain the same.  

The estimate on its sale is between $300,000 and $500,000. 

The white 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible that drove JFK, Jackie, and Texas Governor John Connally to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth the morning of November 22, 1963

The white 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible that drove JFK, Jackie, and Texas Governor John Connally to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth the morning of November 22, 1963

The car as received a new engine and has been repainted since

The car as received a new engine and has been repainted since 

The interior including the red seats of the car mainly remains as it was in 1963

The interior including the red seats of the car mainly remains as it was in 1963

The second Lincoln car going up for sale was used by JFK for personal errands from the White House. 

The car was purchased by an acquaintance of JFK the year after his death. 

It had previously been leased by the government from Ford for the president’s use for $500 a year. 

The car was modified for the president’s use and included bulletproof doors, power steering and brakes, and passenger air controls. 

It had some extra unusual features including a two-way phone.  

The interior of this car also remains mainly the same but the body has been restored.  

The projected price on this car is between $200,000 and $300,000. 

Also up for sale at the Bonhams auction Wednesday for around $300,000 is the bulletproof limo JFK used for personal jaunts around Washington, D.C., pictured above

Also up for sale at the Bonhams auction Wednesday for around $300,000 is the bulletproof limo JFK used for personal jaunts around Washington, D.C., pictured above

JFK, First Lady Jackie Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally in the last car to transport the president safely in Fort Worth, Texas, on the morning of November 22, 1963

JFK, First Lady Jackie Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally in the last car to transport the president safely in Fort Worth, Texas, on the morning of November 22, 1963

JFK delivers a speech in Fort Worth hours before his assassination on November 22, 1963

JFK delivers a speech in Fort Worth hours before his assassination on November 22, 1963

Despite the hit to the global economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the classic car market is still going strong according to Business Insider. 

With the transition to all online auctions, some of the most expensive web-based car sales ever have been brokered by the likes of Bonhams in the past few months.

They included the June sale of a 2003 Ferrari Enzo sold for $2.6million, completed by RM Sotheby’s.

At the time it was the priciest car ever sold online but the record was broken again just three months later. 

In September a 1966 Ferrari was sold through Gooding and Company for just over $3million.  

The JFK limos are not expected to break any records when they go up for sale as part of The American Presidential Experience auction. 

Also up for grabs is a lock of George Washington’s hair for $500, a stone from the White House for $1,500 and Theodore Roosevelt’s signature for $500, as well as a replica of the JFK-era Air Force One. 

JFK was later shot and killed as he traveled through Dallas in another convertible Lincoln Continental, pictured here. It change the security around a presidential car

JFK was later shot and killed as he traveled through Dallas in another convertible Lincoln Continental, pictured here. It change the security around a presidential car

That car, pictured, is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan

That car, pictured, is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan

Kennedy often traveled in an open-top Lincoln Continental but his death transformed presidential cars. 

They have now been completely redesigned to prioritize safety and security, and to enclose the president in more layers of armor and protection. 

JFK’s successor Lyndon B. Johnson traveled in an armored Continental. 

By Bush’s era, he was traveling in a Cadillac DeVille that was more like a tank than a car. 

Current presidents travel in ‘The Beast’, first introduced for Obama’s inauguration in 2009. 

The Cadillac Presidential Limousine weighs in at a massive 10 tons and comes with a formidable array of weapons and armory, as well as eight-inch walls and five-inch windows that are heavier than a commercial jet.