The famous 1920s mobster Alphones Gabriel Capone, colloquially known as “Al,” is a familiar name and face around the world, despite mostly operating in the US.
He became notorious for many of his deeds and, among others, the fact that his modified Cadillac 341-A was both bulletproof and pretty fast for something weighing three and a half tons.
The video posted below was probably (though not completely surely) shot some fourteen years before Capone’s death in 1947, when the car was taken to be shown off in the UK, in Southend, Essex.
A man walks viewers through some of the features the car had on it, including a police spec siren and a police radio. His voice, style of speech and used vocabulary are very fitting for the object of his presentation and give the footage lots of character…
It’s one of a handful of automotive-related videos being uploaded by BritishPathe. They’re currently grouped in a playlist, though it doesn’t include all channel’s videos that are relevant to the topic of cars – you have to do some manual sifting as well.
The car sold at auction back in 2012, for $341,000.
By Andrei Nedelea