- The iconic 600 Pullman has also been owned by Mary Wilson of The Supremes
- Rare car is one of only 39 four-door, right-hand drive Pullman ever produced
- It is up for auction with supercar dealer Tom Hartley Jnr.
A rare Mercedes once owned by Beatles legends John Lennon and George Harrison is to be auctioned for an undisclosed six-figure sum.
The star-studded 600 Pullman was purchased by Lennon in 1970. However, the car has also been owned by Mary Wilson of The Supremes.
This rare automobile is one of only 39 four-door, right-hand drive Pullman ever produced.
It was completely restored at the Mercedes-Benz factory by its previous owner and is now sold by supercar dealer Tom Hartley Jnr.
Its rear cabin is decorated in Mercedes’ iconic leather and polished wood décor and includes four luxury seats facing each other.
In addition to John Lennon, the car has also belonged to his bandmate George Harrison and Mary Wilson of The Supremes.
The car was acquired by the current owner, a UK collector and philanthropist, in 2007.
Lennon ordered the new 600 Pullman in late 1969 and opted to add a few musical extras, including a Blaupunkt radio, a Pioneer tape recorder and a Philips-Mignon record player, as well as several speakers to create an impressive sound system.
It also called for glass dividers between the driver and passenger compartments, flexible reading lights in the rear and thicker padding on the driver’s seat cushion.
The original logbook shows that it was registered to Lennon on February 19, 1970.
It was a common mode of transportation for Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono and they were photographed getting out of the car at the launch of Ono’s book Grapefruit in July 1971.
However, he didn’t have the car for long; when he and his family moved to the United States, he sold it to fellow Beatles star Harrison.
An automobile enthusiast, Harrison had owned another 600 Pullman in the 1960s before purchasing this one from Lennon. That car sold at auction in 2021 for £145,000.
The rear cabin of the car is decorated with Mercedes’ iconic leather and polished wood décor.
Lennon ordered the new 600 Pullman in late 1969 and opted to add some musical extras, including a Blaupunkt radio.
He kept this Pullman at his Oxfordshire home and in 1975 he invited Mary Wilson and her husband Pedro Ferrer to dinner. Harrison gave them a tour of the property, which included showing them this car.
The couple was impressed, and Wilson wrote in his biography that when they saw the Pullman they decided they simply had to have it.
The Motown star used the Pullman to tour both the United States and the United Kingdom, and was photographed with it several times.
She owned it until she sold it at Christie’s in 1989, when Jarmo Hellas bought it from the International Pullman Group.
He sent it back to the Mercedes-Benz factory for a complete restoration, with the car stripped down and reconditioned.
It was purchased by the current owner, a UK collector and philanthropist, in 2007.
A spokesman for Tom Hartley Jnr said: ‘Chassis 001580 is one of the rare right-hand drive four-door Pullman 600s and is surely the most important 600 ever built.
The car is on sale for a six-figure sum at supercar dealership Tom Hartley Jnr.
The car was completely restored at the Mercedes-Benz factory by its previous owner.
‘It was commissioned and newly owned by music legend and cultural icon John Lennon and was equipped with a host of extras worthy of one of the greatest music stars of all time.
‘While many Pullmans were equipped with trivial features such as a bar, John Lennon opted for extras that helped provide a refuge for his creativity and allowed him to enjoy a variety of music.
‘Chassis 001580 would be a very fine car in its own right as this is a rare four-door, right-hand drive 600 Pullman that presents exceptionally well following its restoration by Mercedes-Benz.
“However, considering its first three owners, all of whom were musical royalty, and the first owner being a 20th century icon, it should not only be considered an important car, but also a unique opportunity to purchase a very special piece of history.’
They added: “We are very happy to have been the ones to bring this car to market; there can be no other car anywhere in the world that has such rock star pedigree.”