The Roller

Dedicated to the 1965 Rolls Royce Phantom V psychedelic limousine of John Ono Lennon. The most unique piece of mobile art ever created - singular, solitary - an icon of the Swingin' Sixties!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Actual Vehicle Registration

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In June of 1985, John Lennon's world famous psychedelic Rolls Royce Phanton V sold in Sotheby's for an earth shattering $2.3 million. The car had humble beginnings and it started out with a Valentine black paintjob. Aside from being purchased new by one of the most famous people in the world at the time, there was nothing really all that remarkable about it. The car was delivered to John on June 3, 1965. Before long, he started to add accessories to the car including a custom sound system complete with a record turntable, a radio phone, a television, a refrigerator, and he even went so far as to have the rear seat modified so that it could be converted into a double bed! But all of that paled in comparison with what he had done on the outside of the car. In April of 1967, he had the car painted 'psychedelic' by a Dutch team of artists known as "The Fool". Needless to say, the car now drew attention wherever it went, and it even took a beating from an old lady and her umbrella who was appalled with what someone had done to a Rolls Royce. The Beatles used this vehicle extensively between 1966 and 1969, and in 1970 John and Yoko shipped the car to the U.S., where it was loaned to several rock stars in the early 70's, including The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. The car spent several years in storage and in 1977 it was donated to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in NYC for a $225,000. tax credit. In 1985 it was the museum that put it up for sale at Sotheby's. Today the car is in Victoria, British Columbia, at the Royal British Columbia Museum.

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