The ultra famous Rolls Royce Phantom V owned by John Lennon, to come back to the UK for the 8 great Phantoms Exhibition.

• ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCES ‘THE JOHN LENNON PHANTOM V’ TO RETURN TO LONDON DURING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
• #GreatPhantoms

Rolls-Royce has announced that it will celebrate the 50th anniversary year of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in its own way by bringing the colourful Rolls-Royce Phantom V, famous for being owned by John Lennon, back home to London for the British public to see.

Currently owned by the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada, ‘The John Lennon Phantom V’ will travel from Canada to London to join ‘The Great Eight Phantoms’ – A Rolls-Royce Exhibition, at Bonhams on New Bond Street, an area visited regularly by Lennon in the late 1960s in this very car. 

Members of the public will be able to see ‘The John Lennon Phantom V’ at Bonhams from 29 July to the 2 August.

‘The John Lennon Phantom V’

On 3 June 1965 – the same day that Edward H White left the capsule of his Gemini 4 to become the first American to walk in space – John Lennon took delivery of something rather special. 

  

It was a Rolls-Royce Phantom V in Valentine Black. He would later say that he always wanted to be an eccentric millionaire, and the Phantom would become an important step towards that dream. 

Lennon had the Phantom V customised in true rock-star style. The rear seat was converted to a double bed, a television, telephone and refrigerator were installed, along with a 'floating' record player and a custom sound system (which included an external loud hailer). 

Then, in April 1967, just as the recording of the game-changing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was finishing, Lennon asked Surrey coachbuilders, JP Fallon, to give the Phantom a new paint job. The freshly-painted Phantom was unveiled days before the worldwide release of Sgt. Pepper’s on 1 June and it seemed part of the overall concept of the album.

The new colour scheme is often described as 'psychedelic' and certainly the colours, particularly the dominant yellow, reflected the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. But look carefully and you will see it is no random swirl, but a floral Romany scroll design, as used on gypsy caravans and canal barges, with a zodiac symbol on the roof.

The Phantom V was used regularly by Lennon until 1969 (Lennon also owned a slightly less conspicuous all-white Phantom V). Having used it, pre-paint change, to collect his MBE with his bandmates in 1965, he then used it again in 1969 to return his MBE to the Palace, in protest against, among other things, the Vietnam War. 

The car was shipped to the USA in 1970 when Lennon moved there and was loaned out to ferry other rock stars around such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Moody Blues. In 1977, after a period in storage, it was donated by billionaire Jim Pattison to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. 

‘The Great Eight Phantoms’ – a Rolls-Royce Exhibition, will take place at Bonhams international flagship saleroom and galleries in New Bond Street, London, from 29 July to the 2 August. 

Citroën launches new SUV, for China only, hopefully it will come to Europe.

• New  C3-XR unveiled at C_42, Paris
• New Crossover to be launched in China at the end of the year
• Chinese market is a key growth area for Citroën, representing more than one in four sales for the brand

CITROËN is continuing its strategy of globalisation and asserting its position as a truly international automotive manufacturer. At the heart of this strategy is the Chinese market, which now represents more than one in four sales for the brand. It is for this important market that CITROËN has unveiled, at C_42 on the Champs Elysées, the new C3-XR, a compact SUV projecting robustness, elegance and dynamism.

Citroën is further accelerating its policy of developing sales in overseas markets and consolidating its status as a global brand. In recent months, this global approach has taken on a new dimension with sales worldwide up 7% in the first half of 2014, above the growth in the market (+4%).

CITROËN is growing fast in China, with sales up 19% to the end of August 2014, compared to 12% for the market. This growth is supported by a rapidly expanding network of 470 dealers, which came first for service quality in the JD Power 2014 survey. The success of the products, such as C-Elysée and C4 L, demonstrates that CITROËN has been able to win recognition by offering models that are tailored, modern and able to meet the expectations of these new customers.

It is on these solid foundations that CITROËN has unveiled the C3-XR, its new model to be launched in China at the end of the year which will extend its cover of this market. This new offering embodies a resolutely modern approach to the SUV, based on CITROËN’s values: strong design, remarkable comfort inherited from CITROËN’s know-how and technology choices aimed at the well-being of users. The vehicle was presented at a symbolic location, C_42 on the Champs Elysées, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations and emphasise the French origins of this SUV.

The C3-XR is very close to the concept car presented at Beijing in April 2014 and is a pure product of the CITROËN centre of style, which applied all of its know-how and creativity in the conception of this SUV. Its immediately identifiable design projects robustness, elegance and dynamism. As one of CITROËN’s distinctive traits, comfort is of the highest standard, thanks to benchmark levels of interior space, a roomy and welcoming driving position, and ride comfort worthy of the best saloons. The CITROËN C3-XR also benefits from the latest innovations, making for easier use through its technological equipment – keyless entry and start, reversing camera, grip control – and its connectivity via the Citroën telematic services.

On sale in December, C3-XR will be produced at Wuhan and will be available from launch with the THP 160 S&S engine coupled with the latest generation EAT6 automatic gearbox.

C3-XR will be on show at C_42 on the Champs Elysées.