John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V was the ‘most recognizable car in the world’ for a reason

John Lennon was known for his bold statements, and his Rolls-Royce Phantom V is no exception.

Only 517 Phantom Vs were ever made, and the Beatle was one of the lucky few to bag one.

Like he so often did, he really made it his own.

These were hardly subtle vehicles to begin with, but Lennon turned it into something truly eye catching.

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Who needs a Yellow Submarine when you could have this?

First picking up the car in 1964, Lennon opted to make it a car fit for the decade.

Cue the ‘groovy’ kaleidoscopic imagery.

If you could find an image in the dictionary next to ‘flower power’ it’d be a picture of this car.

It’s a tad ironic that such an attention-grabbing car belonged to the guy who preached anti-materialism, but we’ll let it slide.

Or should that be ‘let it be’?

Before you write in – we know that was a McCartney track.

In fact, when he purchased the car, he wasn’t even legally able to drive it.

He would go on to pass his driving test in 1965.

At the time of purchase, Lennon paid approximately $14,000 (£11,000) for it, which would be the equivalent of $229,828 ($178,699) in today’s money.

But the car wasn’t always the hippie wagon it became known as.

The car first came in black, but that soon fell out of style as the 1960s marched on.

Lennon was always very good at hitching himself to the changing tides of culture, so he knew a makeover was due.

John Lennon’s makeover plans

Lennon submitted a seven page list of expensive alterations to his garage in a bid to have his ride completely transformed.

Included in the pages of this list was a backseat that could turn into a double bed, a Philips Auto-Mignon AG2101 ‘floating’ record player, a radio telephone, and a cassette tape deck.

The musician even had speakers mounted in the front wheel wells so that Lennon could broadcast his words to the outside world via a microphone.

You know, because the guy who said his band was bigger than Jesus needed just a little more publicity.

After using the car in the 1967 film How I Won the War, Lennon decided a paint job was in order.

He commissioned coach makers J.P. Fallon Ltd. to make his car look like a Romany-style wagon with a touch of 1960s chic.

Artist Steve Weaver added red, orange, green, and blue swirls, alongside floral side panels and a Libra on the roof.

When it got shipped over the US in 1969, the car found itself linked to several big music names of the day, as Lennon lent it to Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.

John Lennon eventually gave up his beloved car

In 1977, Lennon donated it to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum at the Smithsonian Institute.

Not so much because he was a big fan of the Smithsonian, but to cover a IRS problem.

The Museum would sell it in $2.3 million in 1985 to a Canadian businessman.

Since 1993, the car has been in the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada, delighting visitors ever since.

Lennon may have sadly left us in 1980, but this remarkable car is just one part of his legacy keeping him alive for fans around the world.

Celebrity cars tend to represent their owner’s car very well.

Take Michael Jackson as another example – his Rolls-Royce with a ‘Palace of Versailles’ interior was fit for the King of Pop.