That is all it took for a Kennedy memorabilia fan to purchase the vehicle during the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, for no less than $120,000; a sum which is, according to Luxist, far less than the car would have probably fetched had it not been for some authenticity doubts.
The buyer of the vehicle, Addison Brown, said soon after buying it that she intends to donate the vehicle to the Smithsonian. Strangely enough, Luxist reports, she got rid of it pretty fast, selling it for much more to an undisclosed person.
Officially, the car is supposed to be the one which was used to transport the President to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. It was sold, according to the auctioneer, in unrestored condition.
Those claims have been disputed by the Professional Car Society (PCS), who specialize in ambulances, hearses, and funeral cars. According to the organization, the real ambulance was destroyed with the consent of the Kennedy family in 1986, after sitting in storage in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for about six years.
Barrett-Jackson fought those claims by presenting evidence that the US Navy serial number placed on the car matches that seen in photos of the ambulance. Whatever the truth may be, it appears at least two people have been convinced of the authenticity of the vehicle.
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