For a band so popular that fans have seemingly recorded every moment of its members’ lives, it’s odd that a number of mysteries still revolve around the four coachbuilt Mini Coopers built for The Beatles. Most notably, how has the one that belonged to John Lennon seemingly gone so irretrievably missing that it won’t be able to join the other three when they reunite at the London Classic Car Show for the first time in decades?
In fact, it’s not entirely known why the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, decided to gift the cars to the four young men from Liverpool. Some have suggested that Epstein intended the cars as Christmas presents, given that he registered the cars around the holidays in 1966. Beatles fan and collector Michael Hough suggested the Minis could have been bought for Epstein to celebrate the EMI record contract he finalized for the band in January 1967 or possibly as an apology for putting the band in harm’s way when he refused an invite from Imelda Marcos and subsequently caused riots in the Philippines in July 1966. Yet another theory posits that Epstein bought the cars because he was delighted after Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four members of the band to the Order of the British Empire. Or it could be that Epstein didn’t give the cars to the four Beatles after all and that they were actually gifts from EMI.
At least a couple of those theories don’t account for the fact that Epstein ordered the four cars from British coachbuilding firm Harold Radford & Co. of South Kensington and that the customization of the Minis would have required significant lead time. Some sources claim Epstein ordered the Minis as early as the spring of 1965, with the four delivered to him via his company, Brydor Cars, then transferred to the band members throughout the first half of 1967.
![George Harrison's Mini]()
![Paul McCartney's Mini]()
![u200bJohn Lennon's Mini]()
Radford, long known for its work on British luxury car chassis, had pivoted to offering upgraded and customized Minis that it sold as the Mini deVille starting in 1963, and customized each of the four Beatles Minis slightly differently. Ringo Starr’s Mini Cooper S received one of Radford’s hatchback conversions, ostensibly so he could fit a drum kit into the otherwise tight car, was painted maroon and silver, fitted with Volkswagen Beetle taillamps turned sideways, and was treated to additional work by British coachbuilder Hooper. George Harrison’s, originally painted metallic black, received a fabric sunroof, the same Volkswagen Beetle taillamps turned sideways as Starr’s, and a pair of driving lamps faired into the bonnet. Paul McCartney’s Cooper S, painted California Sage Green – an Aston Martin color – also received a Webasto sunroof along with Aston Martin taillamps presumably to match the DB5 he also owned. Lennon’s Cooper S, originally thought to have been painted black but also seen in two-tone green, was equipped with the sunroof, hatchback, and Aston Martin taillamps.
Harrison’s, registered as LGF 695D, not long after delivery received psychedelic paint inspired by Dutch design collective “The Fool,” which in turn inspired Harrison to similarly paint one side of his bungalow. In 1968 he gave it to Eric Clapton, who repainted it in something less decorative, but sometime in the 1970s Harrison got it back from Clapton and restored it to its prior paint. Harrison and Lennon, as the story goes, experienced their firs LSD trip in the car while driving home from a visit to a friend who had slipped the drug into their tea. Though Harrison died in 2001, the car remains in his widow Olivia’s possession. McCartney’s, registered as GGJ 382C, made its way to the United States in the 1970s, where it was first frequently spotted in the Hollywood area before subsequent owners restored it in the early 2000s, displayed it at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum, then sold it via Worldwide’s 2018 Auburn auction for $236,500 (about £183,500 at the time), reportedly a world record for a Mini. Starr’s, registered as LLO 836D, remained in his possession until December 1968, after which it went on occasional display, saw a Naylor Brothers restoration in the early Nineties, and sold at the Bonhams Bond Street sale in December 2017 for £102,300 (about $180,000 at the time) to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
![Paul McCartney's Mini]()
![George Harrison's Miniu200b]()
![Ringo Starr's Mini]()
![John Lennon's Mini]()
As for Lennon’s Mini, he’s seen driving up to EMI in December 1966 in the car registered as LGF 696D, painted all black with deep-tinted windows, similar to the all-black Rolls-Royce Phantom V that he commissioned in 1964. As Jeroen Booij at Maximum Mini pointed out, the Mini then appears in Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1968 film project “Look at Me” painted green and sans the tinted windows. After that is when the rumors take over. One rumor has it that Lennon gave the Mini to his assistant, whose boyfriend subsequently smashed the car. Another reports that Lennon gave it to his butler, who kept the car on his narrowboat as he traveled the UK before scrapping it. Others claim to have spotted it in Dublin or in Norfolk or in Holmfirth. Curiously, Booij and other Mini enthusiasts note that the DVLA database shows that LGF 696D remains registered though not on the road somewhere in Great Britain. More recently, Booij reported that Fred and Tony Waters of Nippy Cars in Somerset have been commissioned to build a replica of Lennon’s Mini, complete with hatchback, Aston Martin taillamps, and original Radford parts when possible.
While Booij speculated that the Lennon Mini replica could be ready in time to join the other three Minis at the London Classic Car Show, to date the show’s spokespeople have only confirmed Harrison’s, McCartney’s, and Starr’s, which they claim were reportedly last seen together in 1968 during rehearsals for the white album (ignoring the appearance of the three together at the 2019 Goodwood Revival). According to a London Classic Car Show press release, the display of the three Minis is meant to coincide with the 60th anniversary of “Please Please Me,” the group’s first album.
The show, which will also include a display to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Corvette, will take place February 24-26 in Olympia, Kensington. For more information, visit TheClassicCarShowUK.com.
