For a band so popular that fans have seemingly recorded every moment of its members' lives, it's odd that a number of mysteries still revolve around the four coachbuilt Mini Coopers built for The Beatles. Most notably, how has the one that belonged to John Lennon seemingly gone so irretrievably missing that it won't be able to join the other three when they reunite at the London Classic Car Show for the first time in decades?

In fact, it's not entirely known why the band's manager, Brian Epstein, decided to gift the cars to the four young men from Liverpool. Some have suggested that Epstein intended the cars as Christmas presents, given that he registered the cars around the holidays in 1966. Beatles fan and collector Michael Hough suggested the Minis could have been bought for Epstein to celebrate the EMI record contract he finalized for the band in January 1967 or possibly as an apology for putting the band in harm's way when he refused an invite from Imelda Marcos and subsequently caused riots in the Philippines in July 1966. Yet another theory posits that Epstein bought the cars because he was delighted after Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four members of the band to the Order of the British Empire. Or it could be that Epstein didn't give the cars to the four Beatles after all and that they were actually gifts from EMI.

At least a couple of those theories don't account for the fact that Epstein ordered the four cars from British coachbuilding firm Harold Radford & Co. of South Kensington and that the customization of the Minis would have required significant lead time. Some sources claim Epstein ordered the Minis as early as the spring of 1965, with the four delivered to him via his company, Brydor Cars, then transferred to the band members throughout the first half of 1967.

Radford, long known for its work on British luxury car chassis, had pivoted to offering upgraded and customized Minis that it sold as the Mini deVille starting in 1963, and customized each of the four Beatles Minis slightly differently. Ringo Starr's Mini Cooper S received one of Radford's hatchback conversions, ostensibly so he could fit a drum kit into the otherwise tight car, was painted maroon and silver, fitted with Volkswagen Beetle taillamps turned sideways, and was treated to additional work by British coachbuilder Hooper. George Harrison's, originally painted metallic black, received a fabric sunroof, the same Volkswagen Beetle taillamps turned sideways as Starr's, and a pair of driving lamps faired into the bonnet. Paul McCartney's Cooper S, painted California Sage Green - an Aston Martin color - also received a Webasto sunroof along with Aston Martin taillamps presumably to match the DB5 he also owned. Lennon's Cooper S, originally thought to have been painted black but also seen in two-tone green, was equipped with the sunroof, hatchback, and Aston Martin taillamps.

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