AL CAPONE CADILLAC TO BE AUCTIONED

Previously auctioned, the lack of firm provenance connecting the car to Capone has prevented it reaching high figures. However, new research uncovered by RM Auctions ahead of this auction, including period documentation from newspapers, the IRS, and information from the family of the second known owner, as well as an eyewitness to the development of this car, has clarified a number of gaps in the car's history. While the connection of the armoured Cadillac to "Al Capone" has never been questioned, its never been confirmed, either. RM Auctions believe the provenance is now beyond reasonable doubt.

The first recorded owner of the car after its Capone days was reoportedly a Mr. Patrick Moore, of Connecticut. The Moores worked with a travelling carnival in the summer and owned the car for "about a year," according to the family's only surviving relative tracked down by the RM research team. The Moores exhibited the car with the carnival and had planned to use the Cadillac as a standalone draw for tourists and visitors during the winter off-season. This plan didn't pan out, due in part to the intinerant nature of the Moore's work, which made it difficult to display and keep a car of this size and complexity in reasonable condition. Thus, the car was sold to a Mr. Harry LaBreque in 1933, which is where the solid paper trail attached to this car begins.

Backtracking a little, Emil Denemark was a prominent owner of a Cadillac dealership on the south side of Chicago, who was also related to Capone by marriage. Denemark reportedly sold Capone two Cadillac V-16s, which made their way into the papers when Capone was arrested and convicted in 1931. It seems the armoured V8 Model 341A sedan escaped the attention of the Feds, and lay forgotten in a Chicago garage. The timing and circumstances strongly suggest that the V8 car was consigned to Denemark at the behest of Capone.

Following its purchase by LaBreque, the Cadillac's history is more heavily documented. Shipped to England, it was displayed at the Southend-On-Sea amusement park and later at the Blackpool Fun Fair in Manchester. Purchased for only $510 at an auction in February of 1958, the Cadillac was sold months later to Harley Nielson, a businessman and car enthusiast from Ontario, Canada. Neilson undertook a comprehensive restoration, and for reasons unknown, removed most of the car's heavy armor plating, but other features, including the bulletproof glass and drop-down rear window, were retained.

The Cadillac was sold to the Niagara Falls Antique Auto Museum in the mid-1960s, then on to the Cars of the Greats museum in Ontario in 1971. B.H. Atchley's Smoky Mountain Car Museum in Tennessee acquired the car in early-1979, where Atchley freshened the restoration. Since the original glass was heavily crazed and deeply yellowed, a specialist supplied replacement glass of identical size and thickness. The car then joined the famous collection of John O'Quinn in 2006.

In 2008, Mr. Richard "Cappy" Capstran, currently 93 years old, mentioned in passing to a friend that as a young boy he helped his dad install some of the armor plating on Al Capone's Cadillac. A short bit of research indicated that the car still existed and had been purchased by O'Quinn. In a recent recorded interview, Mr. Capstran recalled in great detail the circumstances surrounding this unusual job. Ernest Capstran's auto body shop had performed a high quality repair on another vehicle owned by the Capone syndicate, which prompted delivery of the brand new 1928 Cadillac to the shop shortly thereafter.

Says Capstran, when the scope of the work was explained, "My dad said, 'we don't do that kind of work here.' And they (Capone's men) said 'you do now.'" Mr. Capstran recalled the entire process in vivid detail, noting that when the car was dropped off, Capone's men directed that the car be backed into the shop so that no passersby might see the nature of the work being carried out. He also explained the entire process of cutting the rear of the body open to insert the asbestos-wrapped steel plate, which was delivered to the body shop with pieces of lead embedded from a proving test. Capone showed up in person to settle the bill and paid Ernest Capstran double the asking price. This special job was never discussed outside the family until years later. Recalling his visit to O'Quinn's collection and the reunion with the Cadillac after seven decades, Capstran stated, "This is without a doubt the same car that was worked on in my dad's shop."

The somewhat nefarious connection aside, this Cadillac is noteworthy as being one of the earliest surviving bulletproof passenger cars (as opposed to purpose built military armoured cars), fitted with glass almost an inch thick and lined with nearly 3,000 pounds of armor plating. Heavy spring lifts permitted the side windows to operate, while the rear window was rigged to drop quickly, allowing occupants to fire upon would-be pursuers. The modified side windows were also equipped so that the glass could be raised an extra inch or so, revealing a circular cutout large enough to accommodate the muzzle of a machine gun.

Mr. Capstran stated that when the Cadillac arrived at his father's shop in the summer of 1928, the doors and windows had already been bulletproofed elsewhere and that they only worked on the rear of the body. Photographs taken in 1933 show the car equipped with a triangular tow bar affixed above the rear bumper, which Capstran stated was not yet installed when the car was in his father's shop.

With provenance now more solidly established, RM Auctions believe this Cadillac should sell well at their St. Johns auction on July 28, and have set a guiding range of US$300,000 - $500,000.

1928 Cadillac Model 341A V8 - basic specs
Engine: 90 bhp, 341 cu. in. L-head V-8
Transmission: Three-speed manual
Suspension: Beam front axle and full-floating rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs
Brakes: Four-wheel mechanical drum brakes
Wheelbase: 140-inch