Baby you can drive their cars! Beatles motors up for auction

Lennon and McCartney-owned classics could be yours next month

The Beatles may have famously declared that all you need is love, but they were all pretty nutty about cars too.

Each of The Fab Four owned and drove countless pricey motors during their heyday – and now two vehicles once owned by the Liverpool legends are going to auction.

The cars – a Mini that belonged to Sir Paul McCartney and a Mercedes that was used by John Lennon in the last few months of his life – will both be sold by Worldwide Auctioneers in September.

Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at these magical mystery machines.

The ballad of John and Mercedes

First up is this 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD, purchased by John Lennon shortly before his untimely death in December 1980.

Run for your life

John Lennon was, famously, a poor driver.

He only passed his test in 1964, and his first wife Cynthia once said that “passengers had to suffer a hideous rollercoaster ride as violent swerves caused the car to hit the kerb or mount the pavement, all at breathtaking speed”.

A 1969 crash in the Scottish Highlands, with son Julian and wife Yoko also in the car, pretty much ended his time behind the wheel, and from then on he preferred to be chauffeured around.

Day tripper

Despite that, he regularly splashed out on expensive cars.

One such pricey purchase was a 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Black with blacked-out windows – a UK first – that was later given a psychedelic makeover by Marijke Koger, of Dutch art group ‘The Fool’.

Come together

He also owned a 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2, rare 1968 Iso Fidia (above) and a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Limousine for a bit of dictator-chic at the end of The Beatles’ career.

Please please me

Lennon continued to indulge through his solo career, with this 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD representing his final vehicle.

Ordered by the late star’s personal assistant, Fredric Seaman, in late 1978, it was actually Yoko Ono who requested the purchase.

With a little help from my friends

Regardless of who chose it, Lennon used it regularly.

Seaman’s book The Last Days of John Lennon makes several references to the musician’s use of the Mercedes both as his personal transport and also to move recording equipment and guitars between his home and studios.

Rock and roll music

In fact, the master tapes of his last album, Double Fantasy, were loaded and taken to The Record Plant studio from The Hit Factory in this very car.

Ticket to ride

Introduced in 1975, the mid-size 123-series was a luxurious German executive offered in coupé, saloon and station wagon forms, and in both short- and long-wheelbase varieties.

Oh! Darling

Many limousines were based on the chassis, and Lennon would certainly have felt right at home inside it.

A day in the life

It was the last car he owned: when he was tragically shot dead on the night of 8 December, 1980 at the Dakota hotel in New York, where he and his family resided, this 300TD was parked in the building’s garage.

The long and winding road

After Lennon’s death it was displayed at the Legends Museum in Nashville, where it remained until 1997.

It next went to a classic car museum in Toronto, Canada before transferring to the Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Florida in 2005.

Got to get you into my life

The car was the subject of an episode of The History Channel’s Lost and Found show in 2000 and today remains in remarkably good condition.

It is also said to drive well – which is more than could be said of Lennon!

It will be offered without reserve at the Worldwide Auctioneers Auburn sale on 1 September.

Love me do

Next up, it’s a car previously owned by Lennon’s writing partner and fellow Beatles superstar Sir Paul McCartney. Specifically, a 1965 Morris Mini Cooper S DeVille.

Baby you’re a rich man

Sir Paul was the second-biggest car nut in The Beatles, with only George Harrison more obsessed with them.

He has owned dozens of beautiful and expensive machines across his 60-year career: this 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2, for instance, was bought by the Beatle in 1968 and remained in his collection until ’79.

Hey Jude

Probably the most famous car in his collection was this Aston Martin DB6.

Sir Paul, who also owned a DB4 and DB5, had a reel-to-reel tape recorder fitted under the dashboard so he could capture any moments of musical inspiration, and it was in this vehicle that the classic Hey Jude was born.

From me to you

The Mini Cooper going to auction may not be as expensive as a Lamborghini or Aston Martin, but it’s no less iconic.

All four of The Beatles were bought Minis by their manager Brian Epstein, as a reward for their monumental record sales, and McCartney was the first to receive his, in 1966.

Revolution

And it was no ordinary Mini, either. Each of The Beatles’ Minis had been heavily customised before being shipped to them, with Ringo Starr’s, for instance, sporting an oversized boot for his drum kit.

McCartney’s was customised by renowned coachbuilder Harold Radford & Co, who fitted it with a raft of luxury features, plus his signature twin driving lamps mounted within the grille.

I feel fine

Inside, it was equipped with electric windows, a wood-rimmed Moto-Lita three-spoke steering wheel, rich woodgrain interior accents, luxuriously upgraded bucket seats, a central armrest, Smiths instruments, custom wheels, and more.

Here comes the sun

A Webasto sliding sunroof was another addition.

Hello, goodbye

Finished in California Sage Green paintwork, it featured in The Beatles’ 1967 Magical Mystery Tour movie, with Paul in the background.

She loves you

Paul is also said to have driven his future wife and Wings bandmate, Linda Eastman, in the Mini on their first date together, and to have composed The Fool on the Hill while at the wheel. 

Money (That’s what I want)

The car has changed hands multiple times since Sir Paul’s time with it, but it is sure to be of interest to collectors: the whereabouts of John Lennon’s bespoke Mini remain unknown, George Harrison’s is with his wife, and Ringo’s is in private hands.

As with the Lennon Mercedes, it is being offered without reserve at Worldwide Auctioneers’ Auburn auction on 1 September. We’ll let you know how it does.