With the automotive world’s attention directed at the Detroit Auto Show, it becomes easy to miss important items that aren’t directly involved with the 2011 NAIAS.

This is one of them.

If you happen to be a Ferrari->ke252 fanatic who also happens to be a Beatlemaniac, then this historic piece of ride just may be what the doctor ordered. It’s a 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, a pretty rare car in its own right. But what makes it even more of a collector’s goldmine is the fact that this particular Ferrari once had a very famous owner: John Lennon.

More than just being driven by the legendary Beatles frontman, this particular Ferrari also happened to be Lennon’s very first car. We figured that the late singer-songwriter had impeccable taste in his vehicles and when we found out that his first ride was a Ferrari, it pretty much put our idolatrous worship on him to a new level.

Recently, we found out that John Lennon’s ’65 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 is actually headed to a Bonhams auction on February 5, 2011 in Paris. No word on how much it’s going to cost, but estimates have pegged it to be sold at somewhere around €120,000-170,000, or around $155,000 – 220,000 based on current exchange rates.

We don't usually fork over that much money at auctions like these, but with this car, we're going to seriously consider it.

Press Release after the jump.

John Lennon's Car – A Ferrari 330 GT - To Sell at Bonhams

Formerly the property of John Lennon, a 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe, which was the first car that John Lennon bought on passing his driving test in 1965, is to be sold at Bonhams' Paris sale of Motor Cars at the Grand Palais on 5 February 2011. It has attracted a pre-sale estimate of €120,000 – 170,000.

Philip Norman recounts in his biography John Lennon – A Life: 'In February 1965, John passed his driving test, an event that made headline news across the nation. Within hours, every luxury car dealership in the Weybridge area, hoping for business, jammed the road outside Kenwood's security gates with Maseratis, Aston Martins, and Jaguar XK-E. John strolled out to inspect this gleaming smorgasbord, eventually selecting a £2,000 light blue Ferrari.'

Better known is Lennon's Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine, which he had delivered two months later and, subsequently, had painted in psychedelic colours. In the same garage, he also kept a Mini. In his book, John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star, Janne Mäkelä records that Lennon's stable consisted of a Mini 'for pottering about in', a Rolls-Royce 'for relaxing' and a Ferrari 'for zoom'.

However this 'stable' was soon to change. On November 12 of the same year, The Autocar Magazine recorded Brydon Cars as offering for sale a 'Ferrari 330 GT fixed head coupe. 2+2 opalescent silver blue, electric windows, 3,000 miles. Ex-property of John Lennon MBE.'

The Ferrari's provenance after this is unclear, but by the late 1980s it was with Modena Engineering, from whom the current vendor bought the car. In the mid 1990s, it underwent a comprehensive restoration to original specification.