25 March 2022
Petty robberies and jailbreaks metamorphosed into big-time robberies of banks, stores, and rural gas stations, leading to the murder of several police officers and members of the public, all courtesy of America’s most-wanted public enemies during the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the leaders of the Barrow Gang.
Bonnie and Clyde’s car was a 1934 Ford Ford Deluxe Sedan, fitted with a 3.6 litre Flathead V8, the first Ford car equipped with a V8, producing around 85hp. It will be no surprise; the car didn’t belong to Bonnie and Clyde; they stole it.
Parker and Barrow didn’t need the fastest cars of the time for their operations; they only required faster vehicles than that of the police.
When they were apprehended, Clyde died instantly from a headshot. Seventeen entrance wounds were found on his body, while Bonnie had 26. Also, footage of the scene taken immediately after the ambush revealed 112 bullet holes on the vintage Ford.
A car toured between the 1930s and 1950s, this particular car travelled, and people paid extra to see the vehicle and mull over the gruesome history.
However, five cars were touring, claiming to be the actual Death Car. Among the hucksters parading the fake death cars around the country was the Lam-Sir Corporation of Houston, which shot up another 1934 Ford Fordor and exhibited before police confiscated it. Warner Brothers then came across it and bought it not for use in the movie but as a template for the movie cars in the 1967 film: Bonnie and Clyde.