John Lennon‘s 1964 Rolls-Royce is set to go on display in a new exhibition in London later this month.

The late Beatle‘s customised Phantom V was purchased by Lennon for £6600 in December 1964, and he wasted little time in adding extra features to the car.

Lennon added a record player, an eight-track tape player, a radio phone and a fridge in the back soon after purchasing the car – which he had to be chauffeur-driven in initially as he didn’t have a driver’s license until February 1965 – while he later installed a TV and a rear seat that converted to a bed.


Prior to the release of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ in 1967, Lennon had the car painted in psychedelic style on a yellow background.

Lennon later took the motor to the US, but he was eventually forced to donate it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design for an exhibition following issues with tax.

The car was sold at auction after Lennon’s death, where it was purchased by Canadian entrepreneur Jimmy Pattison for $2.3 million. Pattison later donated the car to the province of British Columbia for display – see the car in question below.

'The John Lennon Phantom V' to return to London during 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band #GreatPhantoms pic.twitter.com/ZBtGtSA5nw — Rolls-Royce Media (@RollsRoyceMedia) July 13, 2017

Lennon’s vehicle will return to the UK later this month for a new exhibition in London. The Great Eight Phantoms exhibition will run from 29 July to 2 August at Bonhams on 101 New Bond Street – more information about the exhibition can be found here.


Meanwhile, it was announced last month that Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono is to be credited as a co-writer of Lennon’s hit single ‘Imagine’.