Rolls-Royce has announced the fourth Great Phantom to make an appearance at the upcoming Great Eight Phantoms exhibition – Rolls-Royce Phantom V saloon.
This particular Phantom V is as famous as its owner, John Lennon – one of the founding members of legendary band The Beatles. Lennon took delivery of this car (originally painted Valentine Black) on June 3, 1965.
In 1967, when the game-changing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band studio album was finishing up, Lennon asked Surrey coachbuilders, JP Fallon, to give the Phantom a new paint job.
The freshly-painted, psychedelic-looking Phantom was now yellow with Romany scroll designs, and the car was unveiled days before the worldwide release of Sgt. Pepper’s on 1 June 1967.
Since then, the psychedelic yellow Rolls-Royce moved with Lennon from the UK to the USA. There, it has also seen service transporting other pop and rock legends such as The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
First introduced in 1959, after production of the Silver Wraith ended, the Phantom V rode on a new 144-inch (3,658 mm) chassis, and Bespoke versions offered seven-passenger capability. With an overall length of 238 inches (6,045 mm), it was one of the largest production cars of its time.
For the first time since 1970, the John Lennon Phantom V will travel back to the UK for public exhibition, as it leaves its current home at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada.
See it at ‘The Great Eight Phantoms’ Exhibition to be held at Bonhams international flagship saleroom and galleries in New Bond Street, London from 29 July to 2 August.
