“1968 Morris Mini 1000, covered in pre 1968 (out of circulation) British pennies. The car was built to commemorate the Beatles hit Penny Lane which came out in 1968. It has over 4000 pennies epoxied to the skin of the car and is covered in lacquer to prevent oxidation from turning them green. Several pennies date back to the late 1800’s, and even a few valuable Queen Victoria pennies have been found on the car. Paul McCartney commissioned at least 2 Penny Lane Minis which appear to have been done exactly like this one. One is located in Cornwall, England at a place called Cornish Goldsmiths and the other at a Rock and Roll Museum in San Francisco. This Mini was originally owned and used by a company in England for promotional purposes. The company eventually went under and one of the former employers bought the car for himself. He and his family then owned the car for over 26 years. They took it to car shows regularly and offered prizes to the people who could come closest to guessing the correct amount of pennies on the car. The family estimated that the car, over the years, raised up to 750,000GBP for local charities in the Liverpool area. I purchased the car in 2002 and brought it here to the US. Must sell.”
Penny wise, pound foolish.
On Hemmings in Maryland for $12,000.
Dana Jones
Nice classic Mini with a very special treatment. I’d guess the performance from the 998cc engine would be taxed from hauling around all that copper.
There have been several “Celebrity” Minis over the years. A psychedelic version built for George Harrison, and the other Beatles had Minis, too, aside from the Penny Lane version.
Peter Sellers had one commissioned by the exclusive coachbuilders, Radfords, offering very un-Mini-like features including leather seats, Wilton carpets, a walnut dash, a host of extra instruments, chrome window surrounds and its famous ‘wicker work’ paint job – hand-painted lines to give the effect of basketwork. Apparently it cost roughly the same as a Rolls Royce back in the early 60s!
It was used in the film Shot in the Dark, when Sellers and Elke Sommers get caught in a traffic jam after leaving a nudist camp sans clothes.