The Most Infamous Criminal Cars In History

Former professional football player O.J. Simpson became a person of interest when his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death outside of her Los Angeles condominium. Instead of turning himself in, Simpson set out on a low-speed chase in his 1993 Ford Bronco. It was one of the most widely watched events in American history and an estimated one hundred million people tuned in to see the results of his verdict announcement. The Bronco is reportedly available to rent for parties.

5. 1990 Chevrolet Caprice

In 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo wreaked havoc throughout Maryland and Virginia. The two men drilled holes through the trunk of a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice and used sniper rifles to shoot at innocent people in the street. The pair were able to escape the police for more than a month thanks to a false tip that the shooters were in a white van. Because of this, they were even pulled over several times and released. Both were finally arrested when they were found sleeping in their car at a rest stop.

4. 1968 Volkswagen Beetle

American serial killer Ted Bundy reportedly took the seats in his 1968 Volkswagen Beetle out to fit the bodies of his victims. In January of 1974, he began killing one person per month and continued this spree until his Beetle was pulled over in August of 1975. Police found a crowbar, an ice pick, handcuffs, masks made of pantyhose, and gloves in his vehicle along with hair that matched his victims. After escaping custody twice, he stole another Volkswagen Beetle and began another murder spree before being caught and ultimately executed.

3. 1933 Essex Terraplane

John Dillinger was known for evading police by speeding away in his 1933 Essex Terraplane. He famously took police on a twelve month and quarter million dollar robbery spree. In 1934, Dillinger found himself in a shootout with police, and after being shot in the leg, he crashed his car into a tree and fled the scene only to be gunned down in Chicago alleyway after police were tipped off by his landlady.

2. 1961 Lincoln 74A

In November of 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a 1961 Lincoln 74A and the event remains one of the most famous assassinations in an automobile to this day. The car had been modified by Ford’s Advanced Vehicles Ground and was code-named the “SS-100-X.” Even though the government put about two hundred thousand dollars worth of work into it, not one part of the car was bulletproof. After the assassination, it remained in the government’s service but was given a hard top and bulletproof glass. While this car was on the receiving end of the crime this time, the bootlegging legacy of the Kennedy family keeps this criminal car firmly in the grey zone.

1. Ryder Truck

While not as flashy as some of the other cars on this list, Timothy McVeigh used a Ryder Truck to haul a combination of diesel fuel, agricultural fertilizer, and other deadly chemicals to kill almost one hundred and seventy people in the Oklahoma bombing. McVeigh was pulled over approximately ninety minutes after the explosion by an Oklahoma State Trooper who noticed the vehicle was missing a license plate. Before declaring the case closed and bringing McVeigh to justice, the FBI reportedly conducted twenty-eight thousand interviews.