The Beatles’ debut single, “Love Me Do,” was released on October 5, 1962, exactly 50 years ago today, and one year before Feruccio Lamborghini founded the now famous automaker. Today, Lamborghini is celebrating the song that launched one of the world’s biggest bands with a special tribute film.
To honor The Beatles, the automaker has filmed a 1966 400 GT 2+2 driving around London, the city that English journalist Dylan Jones argues is most closely tied to The Beatles‘ success. Having recorded nearly all of their albums at Abbey Road Studios in the English capital, the seminal pop stars, the city, and the swinging ’60s inextricably intertwined.
And the legend of the 400GT 2+2 is also linked to the band. Although all four members of the band were car enthusiasts, it was Paul McCartney who reportedly owned the car in 1967. In Peter Jackson’s recent documentary “The Beatles: Get Back,” a red 400 GT 2+2 can be seen in the streets below the band as they played their final public set in 1969 on the rooftop of their Savile Row Apple Corps headquarters.
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Unfortunately, no official documentation exists linking McCartney to that particular Rosso Alfa car, but several sources point to him owning a Lamborghini around that time. To celebrate the connection, Lamborghini has sent another version of the car to do a tour of Beatles-related sites in London to celebrate this auspicious anniversary.
The Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 features a body designed by the famed Carrozzeria Touring coach house and was powered by a 4.0-liter DOHC V12 engine that churned out 320 hp (239 kW/325 PS). Just 224 400 GT 2+2s and 23 400 GTs were ever built, putting McCartney in a rarefied group of original owners.
Since there are so few, values for these cars can today easily reach $450,000 and more, per Bring a Trailer. As a symbol of ’60s design and optimism, the 400 GT 2+2, like The Beatles, is a fine example of what has made the decade so fascinating to so many people for so long.
