Tomorrow marks the fiftieth anniversary of the release of The Beatles' first single, Love Me Do.
And to celebrate half a century of the greatest band in the history of popular music, we thought we'd take a look at some of the fab motors owned by the Fab Four.
10. Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 AMG (Ringo)
The Mercedes 190E AMG has to be one of the scariest-looking cars of all time, and it's a little-known fact that a certain Ringo Starr owned one in the 1980s. Under the bonnet, it was fitted with a tuned 2.3-litre four-pot engine which, while a bit wet by modern standards, was good for 143mph and 0-62mph in eight seconds.
9. Aston Martin DB6 (Paul)
Quite apart from being the most successful composer of all time, Paul 'Macca' McCartney also has a pretty good taste in wheels. He owned this Aston Martin DB6 in the 1960s and also owned its predecessor, the DB5, at around the same time. Macca's DB5 went up for auction in November 2012, fetching £307,500 in the process.
8. Radford Mini De Ville (Ringo)
There are few things on Earth cooler than a Radford Mini. In case you haven't heard of Radford, they were coachbuilders who specialised in customising standard Minis and transforming them into luxury vehicles. This is Mr Starkey's Radford Mini and legend has it that he used it to ferry his drum kit around. Gear!
7. Lexus LS600h L (Paul)
We're not the biggest fans of hybrids here at BuyYourCar, which makes the story surrounding Paul McCartney's LS600h even more hilarious to us. Basically, Sir Macca decided to buy a Lexus hybrid to help the environment/to show his fans how dedicated he is to the environment (delete as applicable). Then Lexus had the great idea of flying the car, on its own, from Japan to England, offsetting any positive environmental impact the car might have made. Apparently McCartney was 'horrified' by the debacle, which just makes it even funnier.
6. Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 (John)
This was the first car John Lennon ever owned, buying it just after he passed his driving test in February 1965 for £6,500. He owned the car until October 1967, racking up more than 20,000 miles in it in the process. The car is going up for sale at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and is expected to fetch between £180,000 and £220,000.
5. Austin Princess Limousine
Opinion is divided as to the identity of the 'Fifth Beatle'. Some claim that George Martin, the group's producer, deserves the title; others argue that Brian Epstein, their manager, is the real fifth member of the group. Well, if the accolade was to be given to a car, it would have to be this Austin Princess Limousine. It's far from the most exciting car in the world but it's the car in which the Fabs were carried around at the height of Beatlemania and, for that reason alone, it makes it onto this list.
4. McLaren F1 (George)
'The Quiet One' was undoubtedly the biggest petrolhead in the Beatles, as evidenced by his superb taste in cars. This McLaren F1 was one of many cars the late guitarist owned, and when he died in 2001, it was reported that Eric Clapton was interested in buying it. So not only did Slowhand nick George's wife, he also wanted his car. Terrible, terrible man.
3. Lamborghini 400GT (Paul)
If you look closely at the footage of The Beatles' final gig on top of the Apple Studios in Savile Row, you should be able to see this Lambo parked on the street below. Macca bought the 400GT in 1968, shortly before jetting off to Rishikesh and, although there's nothing particularly special about it, it makes it onto this list purely because of the way it looks.
2. Mini (George)
The Beatles loved their Minis -- all four of them would own one at one point or another -- and George loved his so much that he had it painted in psychedelic colours. The psychedelic Mini famously featured in The Beatles' godawful 1967 film 'Magical Mystery Tour' in which it was driven around an airfield at high speed for seemingly no apparent reason.
1. Rolls-Royce Phantom V (John)
Lennon bought this Rolls Phantom in 1965, and gave it the de rigueur psychedelic paint job during the recording of Sgt. Pepper in 1967. Not only did it have its own on-board fridge, but the rear seat was also converted into a sofa bed, making it officially the coolest car in the world. Ever.
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