The Bonnie and Clyde Death Car

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were American bandits. During the Great Depression, the pair went on a crime spree with a gang throughout the heartland.

Bonnie and Clyde were known for their bank robberies and multiple murders. They robbed small stores and rural funeral homes. They were considered notorious celebrity outlaws in 1931 and 1934.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Their run ended in an ambush by police. They were shot to death by a police posse on a country road in Bienville Parish in Louisiana. It is believed they murdered at least nine police officers and civilians.

The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde was a commercial and critical success. It revived interest in criminals and glamorized them with a romantic aura. The 2019 Netflix film The Highwaymen depicted the manhunt from the point of view of the pursuing lawmen.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

After one of the nation’s most extensive manhunts, a posse was formed to ambush the outlaws on May 23, 1934. Posse members included Bob Alcorn, Henderson Jordan and Frank Hamer, Ted Hinton, Prentiss Oakley, and B.M. “Maney” Gault.

The posse never received the bounty they were promised on the couple. Instead, the six men were allowed to take whatever they wanted from the death car. Hamer pocketed a cache of stolen guns, ammunition, and fishing tackle according to the terms of Hamer’s compensation package with the Texas DOC.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Several months after Clyde’s death, his mother, Cumie, wrote to Hamer asking that the guns be returned. There is no record of any response.

You don’t ever want to forget my boy was never tried in no court for murder, and no one is guilty until proven guilty by some court so I hope you will answer this letter and also return the guns I am asking for.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Alcorn took Barrow’s cherished saxophone from the car but later returned it to the Barrow family. Posse members took other personal items. The Parker family was refused when asking to have Clyde’s items returned. Clyde’s belongings were later sold as souvenirs.

According to Barrow’s family claims, Sheriff Jordan kept an alleged suitcase of cash and bought land in Arcadia soon after the event. To this day, there is no evidence that such a suitcase existed.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Jordan attempted to keep the death car. The vehicle’s legal owner, Ruth Warren of Topeka, Kansas, sued him. Jordan returned the car three months later, in August 1934. The car was still covered with blood and human tissue.

Warren reclaimed the 1934 Ford Model 40 B Four-door Deluxe, which had been trucked to Topeka. The car’s interior remained intact after the ambush during transport.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

The bullet-riddled Ford was displayed at fairs, amusement parks, and flea markets for thirty years after the fateful day. The charge to sit in it was one dollar.

A casino thirty miles south of Las Vegas purchased the death car in 1988 for about $250,000. Today, the car, documents, clothing, and photographs are displayed at Whisky Pete's Resort & Casino.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Barrow’s love for cars was evident in a letter from Tulsa, Oklahoma, on April 10, 1934, to Henry Ford. There are some doubts as to the authenticity of the letter.

While I still have breath in my lungs, I will tell you what an awesome car you are making. I have driven Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. Ford has skinned every other vehicle for sustained speed and freedom from trouble. Even if my business hasn’t been strictly legal, it doesn’t hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8. - Clyde Barrow, in a 1934 letter to Henry Ford

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

The 1934 Ford V8 was stolen by the Barrow gang in New Orleans early in 1934. The car featured an updated V8 engine equipped with a two-barreled carburetor. This Ford model was the first V8 to be mass-produced. Six thousand cars were made.

The vehicle reached speeds of 65 mph, making it faster than any police car in use. During this period of significant economic upheaval, the V8 embodied style and performance. The model was popular and exuded a sense of sophistication and class.

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

Photo byDouglas Pilarski

To Bonnie and Clyde, this car symbolized their audacity to their chilling end. Today, known as the Bonnie and Clyde Death Car, it has a permanent home just thirty miles south of Las Vegas. Visit this important piece of American history at the Whiskey Pete's Resort and Casino in Primm, Nevada.

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Douglas Pilarski is an award-winning Writer & Journalist based in Las Vegas. He writes about luxury goods, exotic cars, horology, tech, food, lifestyle, and business.

You’re welcome to share your thoughts or tell me your story. Please email me here. dp1@sawyertms.com

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