The Beatles’ debut single, “Love Me Do,” was released on October 5, 1962, exactly 50 years ago today, and a year before Feruccio Lamborghini founded the now-famous automaker. Today Lamborghini celebrates the song that launched one of the world’s biggest bands with a special tribute movie.
To honor The Beatles, the automaker filmed a 1966 400 GT 2+2 driving through London, the city most closely associated with the Beatles’ success, according to English journalist Dylan Jones. After recording almost all their albums at Abbey Road Studios in the English capital, the groundbreaking pop stars, the city and the swinging 60s are inextricably intertwined.
And the legend of the 400GT 2+2 is also linked to the tire. While 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 last public set in 1969 on the roof of their Savile Row Apple Corps headquarters.
Unfortunately, there is no official documentation linking McCartney to that particular Rosso Alfa car, but several sources indicate that he owned 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 has a body designed by the famous Carrozzeria Touring coach house and was powered by a 4.0-litre DOHC V12 engine delivering 320 hp (239 kW/325 hp). Only 224 400 GT 2+2s and 23 400 GTs were built, placing McCartney in a rare group of original owners.
Because there are so few, the values for these cars can easily reach $450,000 and more today, per Bring a Trailer. A symbol of 1960s 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.