John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V

During the heyday of the Beatles, cars could get rather interesting. In the case of John Lennon, he chose to drive a Rolls-Royce Phantom V. It began simply enough – a beautiful black brand new Rolls-Royce was delivered right to him, but it didn’t stay the same for long.

As time passed by, John Lennon did what many people love to do today – customize his car to further suit his style and personal desires. The Rolls-Royce Phantom V was already driven by a chauffeur, which gave Lennon plenty of time to enjoy the features he had installed into the Phantom. These features included turning the back seat into a double bed, installing a Sony television into the car, adding in a portable refrigerator, and then installing a phone. After that, Lennon decided to include (naturally) a record player that had to have perfect balance so no bumps or stopping would interrupt the music. The Phantom was further changed when an exterior and interior sound system was installed. John Lennon also became the first person in England to have black-out windows in his car.

It wasn’t until 1967 (Lennon first received the car in 1965) that the Phantom really got the iconic look that people remember today. As the Beatles passed by a fairground, Ringo suggested that the Phantom be painted in the same fashion as some of the fun colors and designs as what they saw. Lennon agreed, and it was taken to be painted with a base yellow before the flowers and other psychedelic swirls and images were painted in varying colors.

As time passed, Lennon used the car less and less, loaning it out to other rock stars before giving it Cooper-Hewitt Museum at the Smithsonian Institute (in lieu of tax money), where it was eventually bought by the owner of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum for $2.3 million – the most expensive car sale in history.

However, you don’t have to pay nearly that much for a new Rolls-Royce Phantom on sale. Instead, head over to the Braman Rolls-Royce dealer in Palm Beach, Florida and discover your personal Rolls-Royce at a price you’re happy with.