The Rocketman’s supercar: Elton John’s classic Ferrari for sale

1974 Berlinetta Boxer to go under the hammer at Goodwood

Thought tickets for Sir Elton John’s Farewell tour were expensive? Try this 45-year-old Ferrari, expected to fetch as much as £300k when it crosses the block next month. 

The gleaming 365GT4 BB was delivered new to the English singer-songwriter back in 1974, and it’s a bit of a rarity in its own right.

Feel like stashing a 170mph piece of Elton memorabilia in your garage? Here’s the story behind the Rocketman's machine.

Top of the pop-ups

Rewind to 1971 and, if you were in Turin, you might have seen Ferrari taking the covers off an arresting new model: the 365GT4 Berlinetta Boxer.

Penned by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina, the aluminium, steel and glassfibre exterior offered the perfect blend of poise and aggression, the curve of its shell answered by the hard edges of its pop-up lamps and the distinctive meanness of its slatted grille.

I guess that’s why they call it the Boxer

There was performance to match the promise, too.

The 365GT4 BB was the first of Ferrari’s Berlinetta Boxers, a new line of Prancing Horse road cars built around a mid-mounted flat-12 engine.

For many, it was therefore the first true Ferrari supercar – although some would argue that its predecessor the 365GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ deserves that honour.

Saturday night’s alright for driving

Whatever you called it, it had all the punch you could want from an Italian stallion: 380bhp, a 0-60 time of 6.5 secs and a top speed north of 170mph.

Don’t go braking too late

It drove well, too. That mid-engined setup gave it fantastic balance, while the tubular monocoque chassis provided plenty of poise on the road. It was in straight lines that it really showed its supercar status, though, rivalling the Lamborghini Countach for pure performance.

And, like the best supercars, it was also a rare thing. Put on sale in 1973, two years after the prototype launched, it was produced to the tune of just 387 examples – and only 58 of those made it to the UK.

Bennie & The Berlinetta

All of which might explain why a famous and successful singer would want one. And want one Elton John did: in 1973 – the year he released the acclaimed Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – he placed an order for a 365GT4 BB of his own. This 365GT4 BB, to be exact.

Bought through H R Owen of London, the Berlinetta Boxer wouldn’t be finished until the following year, giving Elton time to form his own label – The Rocket Record Company.

How wonderful life is (with two Ferraris)

Optioned with air conditioning and a Voxson radio, the new machine was delivered to the singer in 1974 – the year in which he’d collaborate with John Lennon and the pair would thrill New York’s Madison Square Garden.

And it wouldn’t be alone at Sir Elton’s Surrey home: the performer had bought a second Ferrari in 1973: an even rarer 365GTB/4 ‘Daytona’, which presumably sat alongside the BB in his garage.

Storage seemed to be the hardest work

Alas, how much Elton actually got to use his new car between tours and recordings – not to mention writing songs with lyricist Bernie Taupin – isn’t clear, but its condition today suggests the Your Song singer didn’t give his Boxer too much hard running.

Perhaps he preferred the keys of his piano to those of his Prancing Horse.

You can feel the love

Indeed, the Ferrari – registration 98 BOX – is in very good nick today. Highly original and with just 9700 miles on the clock, it enjoyed a thorough mechanical service in 2012, meaning it goes to auction in brilliant condition.

It even ships with the original factory and dealer invoices, as well as a history file stretching right back to the first MoT of 1977. Fastidious stuff – and a highly desirable package.

Shiny prancer

Your target? At least £250k – though Bonhams reckons the bidding might go as high as £300k with the right Ferrari or Rocketman fans in the room.

And if you think that’s a lot, be thankful you weren’t bidding on his ‘Daytona’ when it was auctioned two years ago; that sold for a staggering £550k. 

Interested? The Boxer will be auctioned at Bonhams’ Goodwood Members’ Meeting sale on 7 April, so you’d better start saving now.