Produced for only two years in the mid-1930s, the Cord 812 was a luxurious V8-powered car with flip-up headlights, independent suspension, and front-wheel drive. Just under 1,000 812’s were produced for the general public across its entire production run, though the Indiana-based outfit also built a handful of factory-modified versions, including this particular 1937 example which was commissioned by the (then) Senator of Louisiana, Huey Long. At the request of the politician, the 812 was fitted with bullet-proof plating, making it the only factory-built armored 812 ever made, though, in an ironic twist, Huey was assassinated prior to the armored 812’s delivery.
Not long after the senator was killed, the armored 812 was sold off to the US Coast Guard, before trading hands once more in 1989, winding up in a private collection where it remains to this day. Come January however, this ultra-rare one-of-a-kind Cord is slated to go under the hammer at an upcoming Barret-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. Other unusual features on this one-off Cord include suicide doors, repurposes aircraft headlights, and spare tire carriers on both sides of the fender — a detail only seen on one other Cord. Regular, well-sorted Cord 812 specimens routinely fetch well into the six-figure range, so this factory one-off example is expected to garner an enormous amount of money, despite being offered without reserve.
