JOHN's CAR SET TO SELL FOR UP TO £2.4MILLION

John’s vintage Mercedes-Benz 230SL Roadster could fetch up to £2.4millionas it goes to auction.

The custom-made vehicle was bought by the Imagine star in 1965, the same year The Beatles released their hit ‘Drive My Car’.

It is being sold by Worldwide Auctioneers and founder and auctioneer John Kruse, says the vehicle is especially rare as John Lennon owned ‘very few cars’ because he ‘disliked’ driving.

John, 36, said: “He actually ordered this car new and specifically to suit his tastes, a lot of folks don’t realise this but John was not fond of driving so there aren’t many cars that he owned.

“It’s really hard to compare this car to anything else, there have been a couple of other cars he owned for a brief time but I don’t believe they were ordered new.

“When you’re near or inside the car, you just think ‘John Lennon sat here and used this’, which makes it more special.

“I’ve often wondered how many songs and particularly Beatles hits he would have sang in his head while driving around in it, the possibilities are endless, it’s neat to imagine that.

“Because John Lennon was not a big driver and didn’t really like driving an automobile, it was used more for the convenience of going from Point A to Point B as a quick mode of transport.

“It was his personal car, not one used for commercial purposes, so he had it for every day transportation.

“We know he didn’t drive it very far, as it didn’t have many kilometres on the car.

“But through that, there’s a personal aspect of being able to experience what he experienced in the car, which is pretty neat.”

When ordering the Mercedes-Benz, the former-Beatles superstar had the vehicle custom fitted with right-hand drive and automatic transmission.

John added: “One thing he specifically ordered was the automatic transition, this is a bigger thing because of the time and effort to specially order this car.

“When any of us go to purchase a car there’s a lot of factors that go into it, such as where it was manufactured or built.

“Given the travels of the Beatles in Hamburg, he specifically ordered a German car, which certainly lends to the thought it was specific and intentional.”

Lennon owned the vehicle for four years before it was sold privately to a couple in the UK and for the past 17 years it has been on display in a Florida museum.

The car - Lot Number 17 - currently has a reserve of £96,000.

John said: “It really transcends the vintage car market to pop culture, music in general, as well as people with celebrity interest and car folk.

“This is why we go to auction with an item like this, it’s the best form of a true market place, as bidders get to set the price.

“I’m as excited as is everyone to see what the market believe it’s worth.

“Whatever it’s worth to any bidder they should participate, the last thing someone wants to do is find out it sold for a price they would have easily paid.”