It's February 1965. Harold Wilson is Prime Minister, the Austin 1100 is Britain's biggest selling car, and The Beatles have just recorded their latest single, Ticket to Ride, at the world famous EMI Studios on Abbey Road.
It's also an important month for the man who wrote the song, a certain Mr John Lennon, as he has just passed his driving test, aged 24, and is now in need of a set of wheels.
Luckily for Lennon, he's the rhythm guitarist in the biggest band in the world, and is consequently not short of a few bob. In fact, when news of Lennon passing his test became public, luxury carmakers from across the country descended on his home in Weybridge, Surrey, in a desperate attempt to flog him a new motor.
Lennon reportedly walked out of his house and chose the car you see above, a 1965 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 Coupe, finished in Azurro Blue. It was one of only 500 ever made and set him back the grand total of £6,500 -- the equivalent to around £110,000 in today's money.
And if you fancy getting behind the wheel of John Lennon's first car, the good news is that it'll be offered for auction by Bonhams at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed later this year, where it's expected to fetch between £180,000 and £220,000.
Sholto Gilbertson, Bonhams Motor Car Department Senior Specialist, said, "It is a wonderful commentary on the early excitement generated by 'Beatlemania' that John Lennon didn't even have to leave his house to buy his first car.
"We are delighted to be offering a car associated with such an icon of contemporary popular culture at the first of our Goodwood series of auctions in 2013."
It's not the first time an ex-Beatle's car has gone up for sale. Last November, Paul McCartney's Aston Martin DB5 went up for auction, fetching an impressive £307,500 in the process.
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