John Lennon's classic Ferrari 330 GT could roll to $220,000 at Bonhams

A 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe, which was the first car that Beatles legend John Lennon bought after passing his driving test in 1965, is to be sold at Bonhams' Paris sale of Motor Cars at the Grand Palais on February 5. It has attracted a pre-sale estimate of €120,000-170,000 ($219,317).

Philip Norman recounts in his biography John Lennon - A Life: "In February 1965, John passed his driving test, an event that made headline news across the nation.

"Within hours, every luxury car dealership in the Weybridge area, hoping for business, jammed the road outside Kenwood's security gates with Maseratis, Aston Martins, and a Jaguar XK-E. John strolled out to inspect this gleaming smorgasbord, eventually selecting a £2,000 ($3,108) light blue Ferrari."

Better known is Lennon's Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine, which he had delivered two months later and, subsequently, had painted in psychedelic colours. The Phantom V was auctioned on June 29, 1985 through Sotheby's.


Baby you can drive his car... Lennon's 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe

It was bought by Canadian millionaire Jim Pattison for $2.29 million, making it the most expensive car ever auctioned at the time and the most expensive piece of celebrity memorabilia on the markets.

In his book, John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star, Janne Mäkelä records that Lennon's stable consisted of a Mini "for pottering about in," a Rolls-Royce "for relaxing" and a Ferrari "for zoom."

However Lennon's "stable" was soon to change. On November 12 of the same year, The Autocar Magazine recorded Brydon Cars as offering for sale a "Ferrari 330 GT fixed head coupe. 2+2 opalescent silver blue, electric windows, 3,000 miles. Ex-property of John Lennon MBE."

The Ferrari's provenance after this is unclear, but by the late 1980s it was with Modena Engineering, from whom the current vendor bought the car. In the mid 1990s, it underwent a comprehensive restoration its original specifications.

 

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