John Lennon's 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 Coupe, the first car he ever bought, will be sold through Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 12.
 Lennon didn't even have to leave his home to buy a car, they came to him |
The car has been valued at £180,000-220,000 ($279,500-341,500), with thousands of collectors around the world sure to place bids - or at least hoping to. It is likely to exceed this estimate, given that Lennon's psychedelic Rolls-Royce Phantom V sold for $2.2m in 1985.
Paul McCartney's Aston Martin DB5, bought around the same time as Lennon purchased his Ferrari, sold for $307,500 in October 2012. In 2011, George Harrison's DB5 sold for £350,000 ($561,221).
In February 1965, the month that the band had recorded Ticket to Ride, news broke that John Lennon had just passed his driving test.
Within hours, the road outside his Kenwood home in Weybridge, Surrey was packed with a selection of the world's finest sports cars, with dealers vying to sell Lennon his very first motor.
Lennon simply strolled outside and selected the stunning Ferrari 330GT 2+2 in Azzuro blue paint, at a cost of £6,500 ($10,091), equivalent to over £110,000 today.
"It is a wonderful commentary on the early excitement generated by 'Beatlemania' that John Lennon didn't even have to leave his house to buy his first car," commented Bonhams' Sholto Gilbertson.
The car is one of only 500 of its type ever built, and has been restored to its original colour and registration - DUL 4C. Prior to this, it was with the famous Modena Ferrari dealership, where it was purchased by the current owner, painted red and lovingly restored.
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