A Rolls-Royce Phantom V famously owned by the late John Lennon is travelling from its home at a Victoria, B.C. museum to the UK to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album release.
Later this month, the car will be shipped to London, where it will be displayed at Bonhams Auction House from July 29 to August 2 as part of a Rolls-Royce exhibition called The Great Eight Phantoms, a collection of examples of the eight generations of the venerable Phantom nameplate, including the all-new eighth generation one set to debut on July 27th.
The Beatles' Lennon bought the black Phantom V in June 1965, and had it customized with a double bed, television, telephone and refrigerator, and in 1967, just before the Sgt. Pepper recording sessions were finished, commissioned coachbuilder JP Fallon to adorn the car with its infamous psychedelic paint job. Lennon revealed the newly-painted car days before the June 1, 1967 release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The car's Canadian connection began in 1977, when billionaire and noted Canadian philanthropist Jim Pattison donated the car to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, B.C., where the Rolls has been housed since.
Rolls-Royce says Lennon's Phantom V has been in North American since 1970, when the singer moved to New York City; the car was used by many other rock stars in its time there, including The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Moody Blues.
