Famous Cars On Auction

Cars headed to the auction block take on much more value based on who has driven them and who owned them.

You might think it odd that a 2005 Chrysler 300C could be selling for a cool million, until you find out who owned it. And there is a 1964 Lincoln soon to be gaveled to a new owner that has an interesting tie to Texas, the Vietnam war and the Great Society.

Check out these classic cars from celebrities and world leaders that have recently come, or are forthcoming, to market, and see if you want to open your wallet to buy a piece of automotive history to put in your driveway.

This white limo, with a V-8 430 engine that produces 320 horsepower, has a lot of history attached to the 36th President of The United States. But will that up the auction price? Dan Kruse Classics has estimated sales at $25,000 to $50,000, but other experts expect it to go for as high as $800,000.

Dan Kruse Classics will also be auctioning off the long wheel-base, four-door limo owned by gospel, country and blues legend Johnny Cash on March 3. Cash used to tour in the vehicle along with his wife, June Carter. Auction estimates put this car in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. 

Joining in the Dan Kruse auction will be the two-door, gullwing coupe that is the ingenious (and controversial) product of now-notorious John Z. DeLorean, who ran Pontiac at General Motors before starting his own eponymous car company.  Its fame from the blockbuster hit "Back To The Future" has given this car prominence in the American imagination, and auction estimates put it at $25,000 to $30,000.

Also on tap from Kruse: this vehicle, by Brewester, which was owned by billionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt II, whose family was one of the richest families in the world--with money coming largely from a transportation and shipping empire. You may have to be a titan yourself to afford this car, as Dan Kruse classics expects this to go for $400,000 to $700,000.

If it's any indication of the selling potential of the LBJ limo, the hearse that carried the body of JFK was sold at the 41st Annual Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, AZ for $160,000 to Stephen Tebo, a commercial real estate developer in Colorado. Just the mere association with the former president on the historic day amplified the price significantly.

The vehicle, which the current U.S. President put 19,000 miles on before trading it in for a 2007 Ford Escape, was listed on eBay motors by Illinois-resident Tim O'Boyle. The auction ended Feb. 1 without anyone stepping up to the plate for the minimum $1 million bid. Perhaps the car needs to develop a little more history before it tempts big-spenders at the auction block.