John Lennon
1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V
Photo details
Original 2008 Commons upload served byte-for-byte, before the 2023 exposure edit; no crop, resizing or reconstruction.
Photo details
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The yellow icon began as an almost-all-black commission
- Connection
- Former owner · custom commission · donated in 1977
- When
- Commissioned December 1964 · delivered June 3, 1965 · donated in 1977
- Identity
- Chassis 5VD73 · Mulliner Park Ward · Triplex Deeplight glass
John Lennon ordered his Phantom V in December 1964. Rolls-Royce identifies it as the 1965 car with chassis 5VD73, built by Mulliner Park Ward. He specified black paint, trim and cabin materials; only the Pantheon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy kept their conventional bright finish. Its darkened reflective Triplex Deeplight glass made it one of Britain’s early black-windowed cars.
The same chassis later acquired the yellow paint, flowers, Romany-style scrolls and zodiac symbols associated with it today. Rolls-Royce dates the transformation to May 1967, days before Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. The black commission and decorated museum car are two appearances of the same individual Phantom, not different vehicles.
Rolls-Royce records the car’s move to New York with Lennon in 1971 and his donation to the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 1977. Pointe-à-Callière records Cooper Hewitt’s June 29, 1985 Sotheby’s sale to Jim Pattison for $2,299,000, its 1986 Expo loan and Pattison’s 1987 donation to the Province of British Columbia. The car reached the Royal BC Museum in 1993. Rolls-Royce stated in May 2025 that it remained in that museum’s care; this is dated institutional custody, not a claim about a private present owner.
For The Beatles in Montréal, the Royal BC Museum loaned this individual car to Pointe-à-Callière from March 29, 2013 to March 30, 2014. The museum described transport by truck and caretaker Jim Walters driving it into the gallery. That custody trail also helps corroborate the exact-car photographs.
Cabin stories need more caution. The 2013 museum account describes a bed, refrigerator and telephone, but Rolls-Royce’s 2021 history calls those reported additions unproven. They remain open questions here, rather than confirmed features of the car.
Where the car went next
- December 1964–June 3, 1965Black commission
Lennon commissioned chassis 5VD73 in December 1964; the nearly all-black Mulliner Park Ward Phantom was delivered on June 3, 1965.
- May 1967Psychedelic transformation
The same car was repainted yellow with flowers, Romany-style scrolls and zodiac symbols.
- 1971–1977New York and museum donation
The Phantom moved with Lennon to New York in 1971. He donated it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 1977, ending the documented personal-ownership period.
- June 29, 1985–1986Auction and Expo
Cooper Hewitt sold it at Sotheby’s for $2,299,000; buyer Jim Pattison later loaned it to Expo 86.
- 1987–1993Provincial gift and museum care
Pattison donated it to the Province of British Columbia in 1987; the car reached the Royal BC Museum in 1993.
- March 29, 2013–March 30, 2014Montréal loan
The Royal BC Museum loaned the individual Phantom to Pointe-à-Callière for The Beatles in Montréal.
Sources for this story
Rolls-Royce identifies the commission, chassis, original finish, 1971 move, 1977 donation and dated 2025 museum care. Pointe-à-Callière documents the 1985 sale, 1987 provincial donation, 1993 museum arrival and exact 2013–2014 loan. Their accounts differ on the evidence for later cabin equipment; those additions remain unconfirmed. Neither museum custody nor a photograph establishes a new personal owner.
- Black Badge: Born from Heritage · 1965 Phantom VRolls-Royce Motor Cars · 2021-10-18 · external source
Model year, chassis, commission, coachbuilder, original black finish, Triplex Deeplight glass and the unproven status of reported cabin additions.
- A Century of Power and Influence: The Rolls-Royce Phantom at 100Rolls-Royce Motor Cars · 2025-05-02 · external source
May 1967 repainting, the yellow floral design, 1971 New York move, 1977 Cooper Hewitt donation, 1985 auction result and dated 2025 Royal BC Museum care.
- John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce at Pointe-à-Callière!Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal archaeology and history complex · 2013-03-27 · external source
June 3, 1965 delivery; exact 1985 sale date and price; 1986 Expo loan; 1987 provincial donation; 1993 museum arrival; Royal BC Museum loan and 2013–2014 exhibition dates. Cabin-modification claims are kept separate from the manufacturer’s later uncertainty.
Reviewed
Why this is the actual car
- Photo identity evidence
Rolls-Royce identifies Lennon’s 1965 Phantom V as chassis 5VD73, with Mulliner Park Ward bodywork and its later yellow floral decoration.
- Photo identity evidence
The museum identifies its 2013 loan as the Royal BC Museum’s actual Lennon Phantom and Jim Walters as its long-term caretaker and driver.
- Photo identity evidence
In John Lewis’s 2014 interview for the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club Book, caretaker Jim Walters says he took the car to the 2004 Goodwood Festival of Speed for the Rolls-Royce centenary stand. This is firsthand event testimony, not an independent event-organizer record.
- Photo identity evidence
The photographer edvvc identifies Lennon’s 1965 Phantom V; the file records 26 June 2004. The original full frame shows the individual yellow decorated museum car on the Rolls-Royce display, consistent with Walters’s event account. The chassis stamp is not visible.
The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.