Images courtesy of H&H Classics
When you think Frank Sinatra, where does your petrol-addled mind wander to? The Dual-Ghias of his Rat Pack days? The Thunderbird of the mid-’50s Songs for Swingin’ era? Maybe even the dubious custom Mustang he treated himself to for his 50th birthday? Or this 1985 Chrysler Le Baron Town & Country Turbo ‘Woody’ Estate car? Hmm… The story goes that it’s the last vehicle Sinatra owned, and that he spent the last ten years of his life being driven around Las Vegas in it to avoid recognition.
At the time, maybe the Town and Country actually did blend into the Vegas background despite its fake wood trim and chrome wire wheeltrims. By the 1980s the LeBaron was a basic model trading on the name of the earlier, more luxurious LeBarons. The Town and Country was the station wagon variant, though believe it or not there was a Town and Country convertible too, also with fake wood. In normally-aspirated form it was a slug but the turbo version of the 2.2-litre engine pepped it up to a more respectable 146bhp. Even so, we guess Ol’ Blue Eyes was happy just sat in the back cruising down the Vegas strip.
In case you’re thinking this all sounds a bit unlikely, the car comes complete with a copy of the certificate of title showing Sinatra’s name and signature, along with “c/o Nathan Golden” (Sinatra’s chauffeur) with the address 70855 Sinatra Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. We’re thinking that living on a street named Sinatra Drive wouldn’t have helped much with the quest for anonymity. Anyway, the car is now coming up for sale, not in the USA but in the UK, where it’s being offered in the first ever live online sale to be held by auction house H&H Classics. Previous Sinatra cars have fetched strong money: in 1998 his ’89 Jaguar XJS sold for £113,600 and his ’56 Ford Thunderbird for £106,500, and in 2009 his 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham sold for $122,500. So, who will buy the Town and Country?
