BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR

A 1965 Ferrari 330 GT owned by John Lennon was sold last Sunday in Bonham's Goodwood Festival of Speed for a cool 359,900 pounds. The 2+2 coupe was the first car Lennon purchased after passing his driving exam at the age of 24- an event that made national news. The Beatles had just recorded Ticket to Ride and the tune would soon top the US and UK charts. According to Bonhams, every luxury and exotic auto dealer showed up outside the musician's security gate hoping to make a sale. Lennon perused the assortment of fine specimens at his doorstep from Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Maserati, and eventually chose a Ferrari GT in Azzuro blue with blue interior for 6,500 pounds. With a wife and 22-month old son to take care of, the car might have had a practical appeal as the 'family man's Ferrari' with its extra seating. I imagine he also enjoyed the V12 300 horsepower engine on his drives into Swinging London! 

Lennon put 20,000 miles on the car before selling it in 1967 (According to a Liverpool Echo article in 2011, the car was sold earlier). This historic motor was added to the Modena Ferrari collection by the 1980s and painted red, but was restored to its original specs, along with Lennon's registration number DUL 4C, for the auction. Only 500 of the 1965 330 GTs were ever made, adding further rarity to its Fab providence. Lennon shares an excited thumbs-up with writing partner, Paul McCartney, from his car in a photo below- a pose that Linda Eastman (McCartney) would later capture at their Sgt. Pepper's release party. Beep Beep, Yeah!

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale with new items listed every few days! Items include rare James Bond editions by Gardner and Benson, Deighton, sealed Star Wars comics, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, rare Beatles books by Bruce Spizer, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about DC animation designer Shane Glines,  Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

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