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Al Capone’s 1928 Cadillac is commonly identified as a Cadillac Series 341-A Town Sedan, but its familiar “bulletproof gangster car” image needs qualification. RM Sotheby’s auction account connects the car to Capone through an eyewitness recollection and other historical material, while its documented ownership chain begins in 1933. Most of the heavy armor was later removed, and the reviewed records do not establish the car’s present owner or location.
What was Al Capone’s 1928 Cadillac?
RM Sotheby’s identifies the car as a 1928 Cadillac Series 341-A Town Sedan. Its auction listing gives the model’s specifications as a 341-cubic-inch L-head V-8 rated at 90 bhp, a three-speed manual transmission, four-wheel mechanical drum brakes and a 140-inch wheelbase. These are the listing’s specifications for the car and model; they do not describe the added armor.
The car’s connection to Capone is more qualified than its popular nickname suggests. RM Sotheby’s assembled the claim from period documents, family information and the recorded recollection of Richard “Cappy” Capstran, who said he helped his father’s auto-body shop work on the Cadillac. The auction house notes that the car’s origins had not previously been confirmed beyond reasonable doubt.
Was the Cadillac really armored?
According to Capstran’s account as reproduced by RM Sotheby’s, the Cadillac arrived at his father Ernest’s shop in 1928 after the doors and windows had already been armored elsewhere. Capstran recalled helping with armor work on the rear body. He described steel plate wrapped in asbestos being fitted there. This is an eyewitness recollection recorded decades after the work, not a contemporaneous work order.
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#1 Best Overall
- AUTHENTIC REPLICA: Die-cast metal 1:43 scale model of the 1963 Cadillac Series 62, featuring detailed exterior finish and classic vintage styling
- FUNCTIONAL FEATURES: Working doors that open and close, plus pull-back action mechanism for interactive play
- QUALITY CONSTRUCTION: Built with die-cast metal body, rubber tires, and precise plastic components for durability and authentic look
- PERFECT SIZE: Measures 5 inches in length, making it ideal for display or play while maintaining impressive detail
- REALISTIC DETAILS: Features authentic chrome trim accents, detailed interior, and period-correct wheel designs true to the original 1963 Cadillac
Capstran recalled that his father initially objected to taking on the job: “My dad said, ‘we don’t do that kind of work here.’ And they (Capone’s men) said ‘you do now.’” RM Sotheby’s also reproduces his identification of the car: “This is without a doubt the same car that was worked on in my dad’s shop.” Both quotations should be understood as Capstran’s remembered account, not as independently documented dialogue from 1928.
The auction listing describes thick protective glass and a drop-down rear window, including a mechanism that allowed the window to lower quickly. A present-day dealer listing claims the car originally had approximately 3,000 pounds of armor plating and glass approaching one inch thick. Those figures are the seller’s description, not independent measurements established by the auction record.
Rank #2
- AUTHENTIC REPLICA: Die-cast metal 1:43 scale model of the 1953 Cadillac Series 62, featuring detailed exterior finish and classic vintage styling
- FUNCTIONAL FEATURES : Working doors that open and close, plus pull-back action mechanism for interactive play
- QUALITY CONSTRUCTION : Built with die-cast metal body, rubber tires, and precise plastic components for durability and authentic look
- PERFECT SIZE : Measures 5 inches in length, making it ideal for display or play while maintaining impressive detail
- REALISTIC DETAILS: Features authentic chrome trim accents, detailed interior, and period-correct wheel designs true to the original 1953 Cadillac
How much of the armor survives?
The Cadillac’s present configuration is not the same as a fully armored version of the car in 1928. After buying it in 1958, Harley Nielson restored it and removed most of the heavy armor, according to RM Sotheby’s. The listing says the protective glass and drop-down rear window were retained.
The original glass was later replaced during restoration because it had become badly crazed and yellowed. RM Sotheby’s says a specialist supplied replacement glass of identical size and thickness. As a result, descriptions of the original armor package should not be taken to mean every original component remains on the car.
Rank #3
- AUTHENTIC REPLICA: Die-cast metal 1:43 scale model of the 1953 Cadillac Series 62, featuring detailed exterior finish and classic vintage styling.
- FUNCTIONAL FEATURES : Working doors that open and close , plus pull-back action mechanism for interactive play.
- QUALITY CONSTRUCTION : Built with die-cast metal body , rubber tires, and precise plastic components for durability and authentic look.
- PERFECT SIZE : Measures 5 inches in length , making it ideal for display or play while maintaining impressive detail.
- REALISTIC DETAILS : Features authentic chrome trim accents, detailed interior, and period-correct wheel designs true to the original 1953 Cadillac.
What is known about the Cadillac’s history?
RM Sotheby’s describes a documentary ownership chain beginning in May 1933, when Harry LaBreque bought the car from Patrick Moore in Rockville, Connecticut. The auction house presents an earlier connection to a Chicago agent as an inference supported by family testimony and surrounding documents—not as an unbroken paper trail from the Cadillac’s manufacture.
- 1928: The Cadillac was reportedly delivered to Ernest Capstran’s auto-body shop after work on another vehicle associated with the Capone syndicate. Capstran later recalled that his shop handled armor work on the rear body.
- May 1933: Harry LaBreque bought the car from Patrick Moore, the starting point of the ownership chain described by RM Sotheby’s.
- Afterward: The car was shipped to England and displayed at Southend-On-Sea, then at the Blackpool Fun Fair.
- February 1958: Tony Stuart bought it at auction for $510 and later sold it to Harley Nielson, who restored it.
- Mid-1960s to 2006: The car passed to the Niagara Falls Antique Auto Museum, then Cars of the Greats in 1971, B.H. Atchley’s Smoky Mountain Car Museum in 1979, and the O’Quinn Collection in 2006.
- 2012: RM Sotheby’s reported that the car sold for $341,000 at its St. John’s auction.
These are historical ownership and display records. They do not establish where the car is now or whether it can currently be seen by the public.
Rank #4
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What is known about its current location and value?
The reviewed sources do not establish the Cadillac’s present owner, location or public access. Celebrity Cars currently advertises a car under the description “1928 Cadillac Town Sedan Al Capone’s Bulletproof Sedan” for $1,000,000. That is a dealer’s asking price, not a confirmed sale or proof of ownership, and it is not directly comparable to RM Sotheby’s reported $341,000 sale in 2012. The two figures are separate records from different dates, not a reliable valuation trend.
For context about Capone himself, the FBI’s biography places his rise in Chicago around 1920 and records his 1931 federal tax-evasion conviction and 11-year sentence. That history provides context for the period; it does not independently establish the Cadillac’s identity or chain of ownership.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- AUTHENTIC REPLICA: Die-cast metal 1:43 scale model of the 1953 Cadillac Series 62, featuring detailed exterior finish and classic vintage styling.
- FUNCTIONAL FEATURES : Working doors that open and close, plus pull-back action mechanism for interactive play.
- QUALITY CONSTRUCTION : Built with die-cast metal body, rubber tires, and precise plastic components for durability and authentic look.
- PERFECT SIZE : Measures 5 inches in length, making it ideal for display or play while maintaining impressive detail.
- REALISTIC DETAILS : Features authentic chrome trim accents, detailed interior, and period-correct wheel designs true to the original 1953 Cadillac.
Sources
- RM Sotheby’s: 1928 Cadillac V-8 “Al Capone” Town Sedan, St. John’s 2012 auction record
- Federal Bureau of Investigation: Al Capone
- Celebrity Cars: 1928 Cadillac Town Sedan Al Capone’s Bulletproof Sedan
- Reddit r/Diecast: collector post identifying a Franklin Mint 1:24 scale model
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