You can’t talk crime history without talking about the wheels. These weren’t just modes of escape. They were technological advantages, Trojan horses, and rolling proof that while crooks may think fast, they must drive faster. Here are the three most infamous rides to ever dodge a police siren.

The first criminal car: Bonnot’s stolen Delaunay-Belleville

In 1911, Jules Bonnot didn’t just steal a car—he invented the getaway. The mechanic and racing driver jacked a Delaunay-Belleville from a posh Paris suburb and used it to ambush a Société Générale bank courier. Bonnot’s gang shot the man twice, grabbed the cash, and peeled out.

The cops didn’t stand a chance. As James Dwyer put it, “The two policemen who responded first tried to pursue but were unable to keep up – because one was on a bicycle whilst the other was on horseback” (Creditplus).

Bonnot, known as “the Demon Chauffeur,” simply floored it onto the sidewalk, scattering pedestrians. That car and crew pulled off “one of the first robberies utilizing a motor vehicle to leave the crime scene” (Wonders & Marvels). It was the first true criminal car—and the police weren’t ready. Bonnot went out in a siege, surrounded by over 500 cops and soldiers, with artillery and spotlights. They dynamited his hideout.

The armored outlaw: Al Capone’s bulletproof 1928 Cadillac

If Bonnot invented the getaway, Al Capone perfected the fortress on wheels. His 1928 Cadillac Town Sedan wasn’t for cruising—it was for surviving.

After a 10-car ambush, Capone “commissioned what could be the world’s first civilian armored car,” according to Ciprian Florea of AutoEvolution. He reinforced it with “heavy armor plating mounted into the doors and one-inch (25-mm) thick bulletproof glass.”

To blend in with the law, Capone had the Caddy painted “in green, a color that made it indistinguishable from Chicago police cars” (AutoEvolution). He even added a “police siren and the flashing lights mounted behind the grille.”

And of course, it had offensive capability: the rear window dropped “just enough for the barrel of a Thompson machine gun” (AutoEvolution). This beast topped out at 110 mph and weighed over 5,000 pounds. Forget muscle cars—this was a mafia tank.

The dumbest criminal car: Lucchese’s Econoline 150

The 1978 Lufthansa heist at JFK Airport scored $5.8 million in cash and jewels—none of it ever recovered. The Lucchese crew used a stolen Ford Econoline 150 van to haul the loot. It should’ve been the perfect anonymous vehicle.

But Parnell “Stacks” Edwards forgot one thing: the cleanup. Instead of destroying the van, “he parked the black Ford van in front of a fire hydrant at his girlfriend’s apartment,” according to journalist Anthony DeStefano (A&E/AutoEvolution coverage).

That mistake traced the van straight back to the crew. In retaliation, “DeSimone and Sepe went to his hideout and shot him five times in the head” (DeStefano). The van became the dumbest criminal car of all time—proof that the getaway doesn’t end until the car is gone. That one screwup triggered a domino effect of mob hits that left almost the entire crew dead within a year.

The most notorious criminal cars

Each of these cars burned rubber into the criminal record books. Some outpaced the cops. Others got their drivers killed. But all of them helped shape what we think of today as the ultimate getaway vehicle.