Rolls-Royce will celebrate the 50th anniversary year
of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by bringing a very famous and colorful
Phantom V back to London. Previously
owned by John Lennon, the car, which is now in the possession of the Royal
British Columbia Museum in Canada, will be on display at Bonhams between July
29 and August 2.
The late singer, songwriter, activist and co-founder
of the Beatles took delivery of the Rolls-Royce Phantom V on June 3, 1965, just
as Edward H White left the Gemini 4 capsule, thus becoming the first American
to walk in space.
Lennon always wanted to be an eccentric millionaire,
so the original Valentine Black color of his car was ditched for a rock-star
psychedelic style that makes this vehicle unique. Surrey coachbuilders JP
Fallon were in charge of giving the Phantom a new paint job and the finished
project was unveiled just a few days before the worldwide release of Sgt.
Pepper's. Other changes made to it
included having the rear seat converted to a double bed, and the installation
of a television, refrigerator, telephone, record player and custom sound
system.
John Lennon used his Rolls regularly up until 1969,
where it was shipped to the USA and loaned to other rock stars, such as The
Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and The Moody Blues.
After a period of storage, it was then donated by billionaire Jim
Pattison to the Royal British Columbia Museum in 1977.
