Beatle John Lennon took ownership of this P5 on June 3, 1965. The car measures 19 feet long and weighed three tons.

In 1966, Lennon had the rear seat modified to convert to a double bed. A custom interior/exterior sound system was installed along with a "loud hailer." Other installed features included a Sony television, a telephone and a portable refrigerator. In 1966 when Lennon went to Spain to film “How I won the War,” he had his car and chauffer shipped over to greet him. At the time, the car was painted completely black, including black paint covering the car’s grill and brightwork.

Tired of the car’s coloring, in April of 1967, Lennon took his car to Fallon Limited, a coachworks company located in Chertsey, England. 1967 was the dawn of the psychedelic era and Lennon desired to reflect the modern trend via his car. On Lennon’s request, Fallon commissioned a Dutch team of gypsy artists to repaint the car to its current state.

Lennon and the Beatles continued to use the psychedelic Rolls in their heyday until 1969.

In 1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono had the Phantom V shipped to the United States. For years the car was loaned out to several touring rock stars such as the Rolling Stones, the Moody Blues, and Bob Dylan. When the car was available, the Lennon’s seldom used it. As a result, the car was put into storage in New York City.

Then in December, 1977, John and Yoko had serious problems with the IRS. The couple arranged to have a deal worked out where they would donate the car to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City, a part of the Smithsonian Institute, for a $225,000 tax credit.

In 1985, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum decided to auction the car off through Sotheby’s, where it sold for $2,299,000. Today the car resides in a private collection in Vancouver, BC, Canada.