Paul McCartney's Car Collection Is A Tour De Force
As everyone knows, the only thing The Beatles liked more than No1 hits was funny haircuts. The only thing they liked more than funny haircuts was fashionable clothes. And the only thing they liked more than fashionable clothes was (drugs) amazing cars.
John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all liked to do it in the road, but looking back at Paul McCartney's collection it is clear the man really did have a rubber soul. Today is his 78th birthday and we thought we'd take a stroll down memory lane (on the left, via Penny) and check out Macca's motoring history….
Ford Consul Classic (1962)
Being the oldest Beatle, Ringo was the first of the Fab Four to get a car, setting a trend that almost made the band the Fab Fords. Ringo had a second-hand Mark II Ford Zodiac, George had a Ford Anglia and Paul bought himself a Ford Consul Classic 315. Of course, John Lennon had to ruin the idea in typically grand style. His first car was a Ferrari 330 GT, which might just be the coolest first car anyone has ever owned. But back to McCartney's Consul. Considered by Ford to be one of their higher-class models – “suitable for the golf club car park”, they grandly claimed – it was, in fact, a slightly larger and longer version of the Anglia that had sold so successfully in the 1950s. And the Consul stats were far from impressive – 0-62mph was achieved in a get-your-calendar-out 22.5 seconds, with a top speed of 78mph. That didn't put Paul off, though. Having been caught speeding twice, McCartney was collared a third time and it cost him his licence. A local Liverpool paper picked up the story: “James Paul McCartney, 21 years old musician of 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton, Liverpool, was fined £25 and disqualified from driving at Wallasey for 12 months after he had admitted exceeding the speed limit along Seabank Road. McCartney who had two previous convictions for speeding… was told by Alderman WO Hanford presiding: ‘It is time you were taught a lesson.’” At the time, McCartney was dating Jane Asher and after leaving court he told her, “Baby, you can drive my car.” Probably.
Aston Martin DB5 (1964)
As trade ups go, this was a doozy – from Ford Consul to an Aston Martin DB5. McCartney ordered the car in the summer of 1964 just as his driving ban was coming to an end and The Beatles were starting their world tour. He picked it up from his accountant on 22 September… just five days before the premiere of Goldfinger, in which the DB5 had a starring role. The price tag was just under £4,000 and McCartney ordered his in sierra blue with a black leather interior and a bespoke Philips Auto-Mignon record player. He kept the car until 1970. Subsequently, the DB5 was purchased by Chris Evans who added the “64 MAC” registration plate to the car. Years later it was fully restored, repainted in James Bond silver birch and given a Mulberry red leather interior. At auction in 2017, the car was sold for £1,345,500. Do you want to know a secret? We've got a feeling McCartney might regret selling it now.
Mini Cooper S DeVille (1965)
In 1965, Beatles manager Brian Epstein ordered four Minis for the band, but they were far from ordinary. The cars were modified by British coachbuilding company Harold Radford & Co, who were better known for their work on Bentleys. However, after showing what they could do with the humble Mini, Epstein commissioned the company to work their magic on a series of top-spec 1,275cc Mini Cooper S models and McCartney's was a beauty. Finished in California sage green, it came with a Webasto sliding sunroof, a pair of extra front-mounted fog lamps, Aston Martin taillights and an immaculate woodgrain interior. McCartney liked it so much it appeared in the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour movie. When it was sold at auction in 2018, it fetched £182,000… a then world record for a Mini.
Aston Martin DB6 (1966)
Having acquired a taste for Aston's a couple of years earlier, McCartney splashed out on a DB6 in 1966. The successor to the DB5, it had improved aerodynamics, was slightly bigger (it was designed with grand touring in mind) and featured a Kammback rear end for more luggage space. It came with a six-cylinder, 3,995cc engine producing 282bhp and McCartney chose his in “Goodwood green”. However, the most famous thing about Macca's DB6 is that instead of installing a record player (as he had in his DB5), he specified a reel-to-reel tape recorder. So it was that when he was driving the DB6 on the way to visit Lennon's young son, Julian, songwriting inspiration struck him and he came up with the idea for a song, “Hey Jules” – subsequently amended to “Hey Jude” – and got it down on tape. “That's his best song,” Lennon said years later. “It started off as a song about my son, Julian, because Paul was going to see him. Then he turned it into ‘Hey Jude’. I always thought it was about me and Yoko, but he said it was about him.”
Austin Healey 3000 (1966)
This was the car that Paul McCartney was killed in back in 1966. Stop us if you've heard this one, but after arguing with the band and storming out of the Abbey Road studio in the early hours of 9 November during the recording of Sgt Pepper, McCartney jumped into his Austin Healey 3000 – a classic British sports car – and drove off into the night still under the influence of LSD. It was raining, he didn't notice a red light, crashed his car and was pronounced dead at 5am that morning. Which was a bit of a shame. However, rather than break up the band, continue as a four-piece and ruin the sales of Austin Healeys, Epstein and the surviving Beatles replaced McCartney with the winner of a lookie-likie competition and the rest is… well, complete nonsense, obviously. As urban myths go, however, this is about as good as it gets. And if you don't believe this story, listen to the White Album backwards and you can actually hear a voice say: “Paul McCartney is definitely dead and this week's lottery numbers are 12, 23, 31…”
Lamborghini 400GT (2+2) (1967)
Only the second car built by the company (the third would be the era-defining Miura), the 400 GT was Lamborghini's early attempt at creating a more family friendly grand tourer and featured a rear set of seats while retaining the stunning lines and styling of the original 350. It featured a four-litre V12 engine and had a top speed of 155mph and McCartney loved it as soon as he saw it. Lamborghini would make only 247 cars and only four made it to the UK. It was supplied as a left-hand drive, but with a little help from his friends Macca had his converted to right-hand drive and kept it for more than a decade.
Land Rover Series I 86 Station Wagon (1955)
Having been convinced by his then girlfriend Jane Asher to buy High Park Farm in Scotland's Campbeltown as a way of protecting his money from the taxman ("Should five per cent appear too small, be thankful I don't take it all"), it was only when McCartney married Linda Eastman (and The Beatles split up) that he decided to make it his home. They set about doing up the farmhouse and with nearly 200 acres to play with they needed a vehicle to get around. The solution was an original classic Land Rover that Paul and Linda affectionately christened “Hell On Wheels”. Fans of the musician will recognise the name from a Paul McCartney & Wings B-side released in 1973. “Helen Wheels is our Land Rover,” Macca said. “It's a name we gave to our Land Rover, which is a trusted vehicle that gets us around Scotland. It takes us up to the Shetland Islands and down to London.” It's a romantic story and suits a car that has become an icon in British motoring history. However, none of that justifies the writing of “Mull Of Kintyre”. No, Paul… just, no.
Rolls-Royce Corniche (1973)
An automotive icon, the Rolls-Royce Corniche was the kind of car that rock stars and royalty loved. As the company themselves gushed back at the start of the 1970s: “The name Corniche has been chosen for the latest coach-built models because it symbolises their higher cruising speeds and their ability to cover greater distances with the minimum of fatigue for driver and passengers.” McCartney's two-door cabriolet featured coachwork by Mulliner Park Ward, a 6.75-litre V8 engine and was far more understated that John Lennon's Phantom V. Then again, Paul didn't have his Roller painted to look like a Romani caravan.
Lamborghini S2 Espada (1972)
Despite owning a 400GT, McCartney still had a four-seat Lamborghini itch that he needed to scratch and in 1975 he bought a second-hand series 2 Espada. Tempted, no doubt, by the fact that it was a right-hand drive model, the Espada came with a 350bhp 3.9-litre V12 and looked like something from a 1970s sci-fi movie… or a TV show with characters played by puppets. The fact that it was red and had a red leather interior only added to that idea. The McCartney family, however, were very fond of it… until disaster struck. Remember the story of Keith Moon driving a Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool? This one is worse. A few years after buying the Espada, McCartney advertised it for sale and the would-be buyer arrived at the London address to find the former Beatle ready to do a walk around. Impressed by the car (and the seller, no doubt), negotiations were just about to start when Macca made a confession. “Look, I don’t want to sell it to you,” Paul apparently told him. “I like you and, to be honest, it’s not a good car… If you want a Lamborghini that’s mint and has never been in a pond, this isn’t the one.” Pushed on the subject, McCartney explained that his wife (of course, Linda would get the blame) had forgotten to apply the handbrake and the Lambo had ended up in the family pond. No sail… and no sale.
Ford Bronco (1989)
In 2007, McCartney started dating Nancy Shevell who would become his third wife in 2011. To get to know each other, they went on a long and winding road trip in 2008 exploring Route 66 in a slightly beaten up 1989 Ford Bronco. An iconic American SUV and something of a cult classic, this fourth generation 4x4 was understated but it obviously had something of a magical quality because Paul and Nancy have been together ever since. No one knows what happened to the Bronco… I guess we'll just have to let it be.
Chevrolet C5 Corvette (2003)
With a home in Beverly Hills and an American wife, it is no wonder that McCartney decided he needed something suitably “stars and stripes” for his new environment. Although released in 2003 – the year of Chevrolet's 50th anniversary – Macca has been driving the C5 Corvette since 2005 and is regularly seen driving the rear-wheel drive two-seater, with a hefty 5.7-litre V8 under the hood delivering 345bhp. And, of course, living in LA he had to have a convertible to enjoy the good day sunshine.
Lexus LS 600h (2008)
As a gift from Lexus (who sponsored his US tour in 2005) when he turned 65, environmentally conscious McCartney was sent the luxury hybrid all the way from Japan. He was delighted with the car, less happy that it was flown over, creating a huge carbon footprint equivalent to driving six times around the world. The LS 600h combined a five-litre V8 petrol engine with a 221bhp electric motor and on the surface that doesn't sound all that great, but back in 2008 it was at least a statement of eco-intent. And when McCartney married Nancy in 2011, the bride arrived on time at Westminster Registry Office in the hybrid Lexus.