Rolls Royce Phantom V, received by John Lennon on June 3, 1965, was initially painted in traditional black. After a radiotelephone, TV and refrigerator were installed at the owner's request, and the back seat was converted into a double bed, John decided to pay some attention to the appearance of his beloved car.
The standard color of the car never suited him; it seemed boring to him. So in April 1967, he approached JP Fallon Limited to have his Rolls-Royce repainted in something "psychedelic." The work, which gypsy artists designed, literally delighted John, which could not be said about the British public. The audience was shocked by the trick of the gouging superstar who dared to encroach on the sacred. There is a known case when an elderly lady, seeing this car on the street, attacked it with an umbrella, shouting: "Pig! How dare you do this to a Rolls-Royce!"
The Beatles used the car as a traveling car for several years, and after the breakup of the group, Lennon moved the car to America, where rock stars such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan rented it. At the end of 1977, John had severe financial problems, and he was forced to sell this Rolls-Royce to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York for 225 thousand dollars. Subsequently, after the death of Lennon, this car was put up for auction, the final bidding for which was almost $ 2,300,000! Since then, this Rolls-Royce has been considered the most expensive car in history.
The buyer is Jim Pattison, owner of Ripley International Inc. in Southern California, which exhibited John's Rolls-Royce in his "Believe It Or Not" museum. In the car's interior, you can see a wax figure of John, made by Joan Sullivan.
Source: diecast-43.livejournal.com; tltonline.ru; cars.uk.msn.com
Images: cars.uk.msn.com; www.claspgarage.com
Harrison's
