PHOENIX, Ariz. -- A 1956 Bentley S1 sedan with pink and purple interior that once was owned by the late Beatle John Lennon was sold at auction Sunday for $50,000, well below the speculated price.
Ron Morgan of Santa Ana, Calif., an automobile wholesaler who also deals in classic cars, paid $50,000 for the automobile owned by Lennon from 1966-68.
The car, representative of the Beatles' 'psychedelic' years, has an exterior paint job that includes 12 colors, dominated by shades of pink and purple. Inside are pink shag carpets, purple leather and paisley curtains.
Morgan, wearing a gray top hat, outlasted two or three other prospective buyers in the bidding that lasted only about three minutes at the Barrett-Jackson Auction. Bidding started at $10,000 after the auctioneers determined that an early $100,000 bid was fake.
'I was ready to spend at least $200,000,' Morgan said after purchasing the car. 'I was so surprised. This is the happiest day of my life.'
Joe Molina, a spokesman for auctioneer Rick Cole, said reports that the car was expected to be sold for $100,000 to $200,000 were only 'speculation.'
'We feel the price is a fair price,' Molina said.
Molina said when the car was consigned by its anonymous owner to auction Nov. 4, a month before Lennon was shot to death in New York, it was valued at $35,000.
Before the auction, Molina had said telephone offers of up to $105,000 were received but said the high price may not have materialized at the auction because would-be buyers got 'cold feet.'
Morgan, who buys and sells classic cars at auctions throughout the country, indicated he would soon put the car on the market again.
For the immediate future, however, Morgan said he would display the vehicle at an automobile dealership at Anaheim, Calif., owned by a business acquaintance.
'I think it should go in some type of museum,' Morgan said.
The auction company's commission of approximately $4,000 will be donated to the Spirit Foundation, a charitable organization set up by Lennon before his death.
Before the car was displayed in Los Angeles last month, the Bentley had been stored in an air conditioned wine celler in Ojai, Calif., for more than three years.
The car was on the state fair circuit in 1970-71 and was on exhibition from 1971 to 1977 at the Movieland Museum in Buena Park, Calif.
