Successions of American Presidents have used Cadillacs and Lincolns (as well as a couple of Fords) ever since William H. Taft became the first US President to use a car for official state business. John F. Kennedy's Lincoln Continental Limousine was hand built by coachbuilder Hess & Eisenhardt and presented to him in 1961, two years before it was thrown into the limelight as the car he was shot in.
The 'SS-100-X' was pretty plush, featuring thick fur carpets, lap robes with gold thread in them, built-in flood lights and a hydraulically lifting rear seat. It also, ironically, had a removable bubble top, which Willard Hess, who oversaw the car's transformation, reckoned would have saved Kennedy's life had it been in situ as the car neared the infamous grassy knoll.
Somewhat spookily, the car remained in service for some fifteen years after the assassination, albeit heavily modified - including titanium armour plating and a fixed, bulletproof hood. It was retired to the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan in 1978 and can still be seen there today.
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