Peter Sellers's story is an extraordinary one of women and cars. A short but exceptional life. A man consumed by a passion for cars and surrounded by feminine beauty and professional success.
Peter Sellers with his wife Britt Ekland in 1965.
Excerpt from 40 years without Peter Sellers, the microphone man with a thousand voices and a thousand faces. By Chiara Ugolini for Repubblica on July 23, 2020.
"I'm like a microphone. By myself, I have no sound. I capture what surrounds me." This was the maxim of Peter Sellers, whose real name was Richard Henry Sellers (Peter was his brother, who died before he was born), a talented performer, a brilliant comedian and a multifaceted actor who left his audiences 40 years ago after yet another heart attack at not even 55 years old. In his long career, first on radio, then on television and especially in film, he gifted audiences with extraordinary characters such as Inspector Clouseau in The pink panther, the Indian Hrundi Bakshi in Hollywood party, the three protagonists of Dr. Strangelove and the candid Chance The Gardener in Being there. Behind all his masks was an insecure man, an insatiable artist, a restless soul, the son of a compliant musician and a daughter of an artist (theater was a family affair), possessive and jealous of anyone else who surrounded her son. Four wives, three children, a tortuous psyche, an oversized ego and an unpredictable star, as revealed in Andrea Ciaffaroni's biography, In arte Peter Sellers. But, behind those unforgettable characters, behind that flair, there was a bit of his own life, of what his artistic "microphone" had captured. To Oriana Fallaci, who interviewed him in 1964, he said: "I have a thousand faces and none of them are mine: they all belong to a character played by me."
Bio: Peter Sellers on January 11, 2021.
Peter Sellers has frequently been described as the greatest comic genius to emerge from the UK since Charlie Chaplin.
Born in 1925, at an early age, Sellers accompanied his parents on tours with their variety act at provincial theatres around Britain.
Sellers first worked as a drummer and member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The ENSA provided entertainment to British armed forces during World War 2 and was where Sellers developed his mimicry and improvisational skills.
After the War, his first job was as a caretaker at a theatre. Steady promotions ultimately saw him given a stage act playing ukuleles, singing songs and telling jokes.
With his gift for imitation and improvisation, Sellers became a regular performer on BBC radio shows. His big break came in the early 1950s when he formed The Goon Show with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine.
During the 1950s, Sellers also began a film career which enabled him to demonstrate his full artistic range.
Sellers first top billing came in 1955 when he starred alongside Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers.
By this time, Sellers was a household name in the UK and was able to indulge his passion for fine motor cars. MGs, Rileys and Rovers made way for a Jaguar XK140 and the first of several Rolls Royce Silver Clouds.
In 1958, Sellers appeared opposite Terry Thomas in Tom Thumb which marked his first contact with the Hollywood film industry. That same year, he released his debut studio album, The best of Sellers, a collection of sketches and comedic songs which reached number three on the UK album charts.
Film roles came thick and fast and, in 1959, Sellers purchased a Bentley S1 Continental Saloon with special coachwork by Mulliner (684 GYH).
The Goon Show ended in 1960, by which time Sellers was internationally renowned. That year, he became infatuated with co-star, Sophia Loren, on the set of The Millionairess and his behaviour turned increasingly erratic.
Sellers and his DB4GT in 'The wrong arm of the law' in 1963.
During the 1960s, Sellers car buying increased dramatically.
He commissioned several customised Mini Coopers from coachbuilders Hooper and Radford including 6189 PK (royal purple with brocade trim and beige leather) and 57 PJ (blue with brocade trim and red leather).
In 1962, he purchased a year old Aston Martin DB4 GT (chassis DB4GT/0157/R, registration 41 DPX) and later added a new Mercedes 300 SE Cabriolet (1105 PK).
Sellers became even more compulsive after the death of his father and his marriage began to break down.
Towards the end of 1962, Sellers teamed up with director, Blake Edwards, for one of his most famous roles: Inspector Clouseau in The pink panther.
More cars followed in 1963: a Lincoln Continental Convertible was acquired along with a Buick Riviera, a Bristol 407 and a unique Viotti-bodied Bristol 407/410 Cabriolet which had been displayed at the Turin Motor Show.
His DB4 GT then starred alongside a white Ferrari 250 GTE (3481 GT, registered 3 YPH) in The wrong arm of the law. Sellers reputedly sold the Ferrari after a week because he did not like the colour.
1963 saw Sellers divorce his first wife, Anne Howe, whom he had married in 1951.
Later that year, he joined up for a project with Stanley Kubrick. The two men had worked together on Lolita in 1962 and Kubrick’s latest film, Dr. Strangelove, was another massive success.
This was followed in 1964 by the second Clouseau film, A shot in the dark.
Peter Sellers and Swedish actress Britt Ekland pictured after their wedding at Guildford Registry Office, Surrey, on 19 February 1964. After the ceremony, more than 1000 fans came to see the couple leave in their car. Photo by Alarmy.
Towards the end of filming, Sellers met 21 year old Swedish starlet, Britt Eklund. They married in February 1964, ten days after having first met. As a wedding gift, Sellers bought Eklund a red Shapecraft Lotus Elan that he had seen at the London Racing Car Show. It was followed by a matching red Jaguar E-type Roadster and a Radford Mini Cooper.
A couple of months after his marriage to Eklund, Sellers had the first of multiple heart attacks.
In July 1964, he purchased a Caribbean Blue Pearl Aston Martin DB5 Convertible; by this time he was able to command $1m per film. The DB5 was later sold to Sellers’ friend, Lord Snowden, who was married to Princess Margaret.
In early 1965, Sellers acquired a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 3 Coupe by Mulliner Park Ward.
At the London Motor Show in October, he purchased two cars: a Ferrari 500 Superfast (6679 SF, first registered PS 2204 and then GYK 5C) and another Rolls Royce Cloud 3, this time a Mulliner Park Ward Drop Head which later appeared in the 1967 film There’s a girl in my soup, alongside Goldie Hawn.
A third Cloud 3 (this time a standard saloon) was given to Sellers by Columbia Pictures as an inducement to play the lead role in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale.
Soon after filming for Casino Royale had been completed, Seller’s was deeply affected by the death of his mother with whom he had been particularly close.
In 1966, he purchased a white Lotus Elan S2 (45/5897, SAR 57D).
In early 1967, the Lotus was followed by a lightly used Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 3 with Drop Head coachwork by Mulliner Park Ward (NBY 837D).
Sellers and Britt Eklund divorced in December 1968 and he began to spend more time at his residence in Geneva.
Peter Sellers with his Ferrari 275 GTB.
In 1969, Sellers purchased a two year old Celeste blue Ferrari 275 GTB/4 (09475) which he used as his daily driver.
During the 1970s, Sellers’ physical and mental problems worsened. His car buying habit reduced drastically; although the odd Rolls Royce came and went, the new generation of mid-engined supercars did not seem to appeal.
Miranda Quarry, here with Peter Sellers, later known as the Countess of Stockton, emerged during an era of dramatic cultural transformation in Britain. Born into the upper echelons of British society, she embodied the fusion of aristocratic grace and Swinging London style. As the stepdaughter of Lord Mancroft, she had early access to a rarefied social world, but Miranda also carved a name for herself beyond her family ties. She worked for renowned designer Michael Fish at his iconic Mr. Fish boutique in Mayfair, a hotspot for avant-garde fashion in the 1960s. Fish dressed everyone from Mick Jagger to David Bowie and Miranda’s time there placed her at the center of a fashion revolution that defined the decade. Her relationship with Peter Sellers brought her into the limelight during a key period in British pop culture. Sellers, already a household name for his brilliant performances in The pink panther series and Dr. Strangelove, was at the height of his fame when he married Miranda in August 1970 at Caxton Hall, a venue known for celebrity weddings. Their marriage captured the public's imagination—she, the elegant young socialite and model and he, the eccentric comedic genius. Their honeymoon in Monte Carlo and travels through Rome were well-documented by paparazzi like Elio Sorci, reflecting the growing obsession with celebrity culture in the post-war era. Though their marriage was short-lived, ending in 1974, Miranda’s legacy continued through her later life as a mother and public figure. Her poise and style, captured in photographs from the late 60s and early 70s, remain iconic representations of an era when British fashion, cinema and society underwent seismic shifts. Miranda Quarry was not merely a footnote in Sellers’ biography — she was a woman whose life intersected with some of the most vivid moments in 20th-century British history.
In 1970, he married third wife, the model Miranda Quarry.
Peter Sellers driving a car sitting next to Liza Minnelli.
1973 saw Sellers become engaged to Liza Minnelli, despite still being married to Quarry. The relationship with Minelli lasted a month.
Sellers’ film career was reinvigorated when, in 1974, he teamed up with Blake Edwards for The return of the pink panther which was released to critical acclaim.
It was followed by The pink panther strikes again (released 1976).
Against the odds, Sellers was once again considered an A-list star despite several years of indifferent movies. However, during filming, the already fraught relationship between Sellers and Blake Edwards had deteriorated to the point that Edwards said of the actor's mental state: "if you went to an asylum and you described the first inmate you saw, that's what Peter had become. He was certifiable."
Peter Sellers and his girlfriend Lynne Frederick at Heathrow on arrival from the Seychelles on December 04, 1976. Photo by PA Images via Getty Images.
In 1977, Sellers married his fourth wife, actress Lynne Frederick. A month after they married, Sellers had his second major heart attack.
Although his love affair with motor cars had dwindled, Sellers took delivery of a black Porsche 930 in 1978 (9308700256).
While other machinery had come and gone, throughout his career he had retained a 1930 Austin Heavy Twelve Open Road Tourer Deluxe that he had affectionately named ‘Old Min’.
Despite Sellers’ well documented problems, his last film, the 1979 black comedy Being there, was universally lauded by critics and came to be regarded as the crowning triumph of his career.
On 22nd July 1980, Peter Sellers suffered a heart attack in his suite at the Dorchester Hotel. He died two days later at the age of 54.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia.
Photo copyright: unattributed.
Metal underwear: Peter Sellers' car collection
Peter Sellers on his red 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast, one of just 36 built. To replace the 400 Superamerica, Ferrari introduced the 500 Superfast at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1964. Equipped with an enormous five-litre engine and 330 GT-derived chassis, only 37 were built in little over two years. Most went to captains of industry, royalty and stars of screen. Famous owners included Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (6039 SF and 6049 SF), Prince Bernhard of Holland (6267 SF), Peter Sellers (6679 SF), the Shah of Iran (6605 SF and 7975 SF), John von Neumann (8565 SF) and Ronnie Hoare (8897 SF).
British movie legend Peter Sellers had a passion for cars that bordered on obsession. It is said that, by the age of 39, he'd owned over 80 vehicles. His close friend and collaborator from the Goon Show, Spike Milligan, humorously referred to these cars as his "metal underwear" due to the frequency with which he changed them... which was even more often than his wives and girlfriends.
Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers.
In 1955, Peter Sellers achieved his first top billing in the film ‘The Ladykillers’, sharing the spotlight with Alec Guinness. By this point, Sellers had already become a household name in the UK, allowing him to fulfill his love for exquisite automobiles. He transitioned from MGs, Rileys and Rovers to more glamorous models such as the Jaguar XK140, marking the beginning of his affinity for high-end vehicles.
Sellers' friend Anita Ekberg and her Jaguar XK140 exude glamour in 1956.
It was during this time that he acquired the first of many Rolls Royce Silver Clouds, a 1956 model that had once belonged to his idol, Cary Grant. However, after a couple of years, Sellers decided to part ways with the car and chose a rather whimsical approach to selling it. The advertisement placed in The Times' classifieds section read, "Titled car wishes to dispose of owner."
1956 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud formerly owned by Cary Grant.
In 1958, Peter Sellers made his entry into the Hollywood film industry, starring alongside Terry Thomas in ‘Tom Thumb’. His enhanced career led to a further upgrade of his car collection, with the purchase of a Bentley S1 Continental Sports Saloon with special coachwork by HJ Mulliner. The car retained influences of the original fastback, but reflected the fashion of the time for tailfins. It is one of just two Bentley Continentals built to that style in 1959.
Peter Sellers' 1959 Bentley S1 Continental by H. J. Mulliner.
During the 1960s, Sellers' car purchasing habit went into overdrive. In addition to coachbuilt Rolls Royce and Bentleys, he commissioned several customised Mini Coopers from coachbuilding specialists Hoopers and Radford. He handing over a whopping £2,600 to Hooper in 1963. This sum was four times the price of a standard car at that time. His intention was to have them construct the most extravagantly equipped Mini ever created. The detailed list of specifications and instructions concluded with a rather open-ended directive: "and anything else you can think of."
One of Peter Sellers' Mini Cooper 'Hooper' conversions.
Peter Sellers' passion for coachbuilt British cars took an extraordinary twist with the 'Viotti' Bristol - a right-hand drive Bristol 407 chassis clothed in original coachwork by the Italian Carrozziere Esercizio Stabilimenti Viotti. It was a design exercise requested by Bristol Cars and appeared at the 1962 Turin Motor Show. Bristol decided against putting it into production but were persuaded by Sellers to turn the prototype into a fully-finished car, which he then bought (in addition to the production 407 he already had on order).
1962 'Viotti' Bristol 407.
By 1963, the Sellers car collection had moved up another gear, with the acquisition of an Aston Martin DB4GT (one of only 75 made) and a couple of European marques – a Mercedes 300 SE Cabriolet and Ferrari 250 GTE (in white). Both the Aston and the Ferrari featured alongside Sellers in the 1963 comedy film, ‘The wrong arm of the law’. He reputedly sold the Ferrari after a week because he did not like the colour (which is understandable). The car is reportedly alive and well, residing in the United States... now sporting red livery.
Photographs of the Aston Martin DB4 GT rarely do it justice. It looks so much better when in full flight. Thankfully, we have unearthed a wonderful video featuring a good friend of ours, Aston Martin historian Stephen Archer, living the dream behind the wheel of Peter Sellers' DB4GT.
Note: this car is due to be auctioned at Bonhams' Goodwood sale on July 14th, 2023. (Estimate £2,200,000 - £2,600,000).
In 1963, Peter Sellers ended his marriage with his first wife, Anne Howe and, during the same year, teamed up with Stanley Kubrick for a new project. Having previously collaborated on ‘Lolita’ in 1962, their latest joint venture, ‘Dr. Strangelove’, proved to be another resounding success. The following year, in 1964, Sellers starred in the second instalment of the Clouseau series, ‘A shot in the dark’. It was during the filming of this movie that Sellers met Swedish actress, Britt Ekland, who was just 21 years old at the time. They married in February 1964, a mere ten days after their initial encounter. As a wedding gift, Sellers purchased a vibrant red Shapecraft Lotus Elan for Ekland, a car that had caught his eye at the London Motor Show. This was followed by a matching red Jaguar E-type Roadster and a Radford Mini Cooper.
Britt Ekland and her wedding present in 1964.
Having got Britt's car collection off to a good start, Peter continued to refresh his own, with an Aston Martin DB5 Convertible in Caribbean Blue Pearl. It was one of just 123 soft-top variants and its 282bhp four-litre straight-six engine was capable of generating a top speed of 145mph. It featured fog lamps, a cigar lighter and, the height of technology for the time, a wireless Motorola radio car telephone. Sellers sold the Aston in the late 60s to his friend, society photographer Lord Snowdon, who was married to Princess Margaret.
The Sellers / Snowdon 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible.
Early in 1965, Sellers acquired a beautiful Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III Coupe crafted by Mulliner Park Ward, then during the London Motor Show in October, he made a couple more purchases - a Ferrari 500 Superfast (pictured at the top of this article) and yet another Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III by Mulliner Park Ward but in Drop Head configuration. This particular car made a memorable appearance in the 1967 film ‘There's a girl in my soup’, starring alongside Goldie Hawn. To round off the year, Columbia Pictures enticed Sellers with a third Silver Cloud, a standard saloon model, which they presented to him as an incentive to take a role in the James Bond parody ‘Casino Royale’.
The majestic Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III Coupe by Mulliner Park Ward.
In 1966, Sellers bought another Lotus Elan, this time for himself rather than his wife. It was delivered on 22nd June and driven by Sellers until 1969. The car passed through a succession of owners until 2015, when it was restored to 'beyond concours' condition by marque specialists Neil and Ken Myers to form part of the Piddington Collection. In February 2023, the car was sold by Silverstone Auctions for £66,000.
Peter Sellers' 1966 Lotus Elan S3-SE.
The introduction of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow in October 1965, saw the company modernise its production method to unibody construction. A couple of months earlier, one of the last Silver Clouds was delivered in chassis form to Mulliner Park Ward, to be coachbuilt as a drophead coupé. The car was completed in time to be displayed at the Earls Court Motor Show later that year. It was bought by the playwright Sir Terence Rattigan, at that time resident at 29 Eaton Square, London SW1 and in February 1967 passed into the ownership of his neighbour, Peter Sellers.
The Rattigan / Sellers Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Drophead Coupe.
As the 1960s drew to a close, Peter and Britt had divorced and he began to spend more time at his home in Geneva. In 1969, he acquired a Celeste Blue Ferrari 275 GTB/4 from a gentleman in Lausanne and drove the car throughout the 1970s, having streamlined his car collection considerably. Sellers reportedly once offered the vehicle to Ryan O'Neal - in exchange for his then-wife Linda Taylor-Young.
Here’s Peter Sellers with his 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB in Celeste metallic. Italian style metal underwear in Celeste Blue.
During the 1970s, Sellers' physical and mental health continued to deteriorate and his affection for beautiful motorcars began to fade. Other than the occasional purchase of a Rolls-Royce here and there, he appeared to have kicked the habit. There was no appetite for the new mid-engined supercars of the period and his only real purchase of note during the time was a black Porsche 911 Type 930 Turbo Coupé bought in 1978. The car was put on the block at the Bonhams Goodwood sale in 2017, but failed to meet its reserve.
Peter Sellers' 1978 Porsche 930. Photo courtesy of Bonhams.
When Peter Sellers died in 1980, aged 54, there remained a car in his collection that had somehow managed to avoid the “metal underwear” moniker. Ironically, it was a vehicle first purchased by Spike Milligan in the 1950s. Affectionately known as 'Old Min', the 1930 Austin Heavy Twelve Open Road Tourer Deluxe took its name from one of The Goon Show's many comic characters: elderly spinster Minnie Bannister. Sellers had long coveted the car and, when Milligan lost his license in 1968, he became the owner. Old Min was given back to Milligan some years later, only to be taken back almost immediately by Sellers, who was concerned that it was being neglected... having noticed that it had been left out in the rain and, allegedly, that its radiator-mounted temperature gauge had been replaced by a coffee percolator.
"Old Min".
Footnote:
In 1965, following a four year apprenticeship at Aston Martin, 20 year-old Richard Stewart Williams was employed by Peter Sellers to maintain his fleet of cars. Richard looked after both his road and racing cars (while living above the garage at Seller’s Elstead home). Three years later, with £1,000 from his mother and helped by Sellers’ recommendations to other Aston owners, he set up Richard Stewart Williams Limited (RSW) under the railway arches of Coldharbour Lane, Brixton. It remains the world's preeminent company for the restoration and maintenance of classic Astons... and the occasional Austin. In 2010, Richard managed to acquire 'Old Min' and began a painstaking three-year restoration that would've met Sellers' exacting standards, with costs exceeding £45,000. Sadly, Richard died in August 2021 after a short illness, but he'd lived to see 'Old Min' pass to a new owner at the Bonhams' Bicester Auction in May that year, where it sold for £30,375 - a small sum for such an enormous history.
Photo gallery
His head at the window of a 1910 Cabriolet Standard Cheltenham as he was visiting an exhibition of old cars organized by the veteran car club of Great Britain at the Empire Hall Olympia in London on July 19, 1959.
Comedian Peter Sellers with his wife Britt Ekland in 1960. Photo by Mirrorpix via Getty Images. Britt Ekland (1942) is the Swedish ‘Bond girl’ who became famous through her marriage to Peter Sellers and her relationship with singer Rod Stewart. She was also known for her roles in such films as The night they raided Minsky's (1968), Get Carter (1971) and The man with the golden gun (1974). Britt Ekland was born Britt-Marie Eklund in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1942. Britt grew up to be the poster girl for beautiful, big-eyed Scandinavian blondes.
Peter Sellers' Aston Martin DB4 GT.
English comic actor Peter Sellers (1925 - 1980) polishes his new Mercedes-Benz 300 SE Cabriolet (aka Mercedes-Benz W112) on 7th November 1962. Sellers bought the car for eight thousand pounds, saving seven hundred after a government cut in Purchase Tax. Photo by Chris Ware / Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer filming ‘A shot in the dark’ in Britain in 1964.
Peter Sellers and his second wife, Britt Ekland, in 1964. Photo by Douglas Kirkland / Corbis via Getty Images. Their marriage was a total disaster. From the book Tragic Hollywood beautiful glamorous and still dead: as usual, Peter made rash decision without much forethought that would have a devastating effect on the reminder of his life. He was anxious to prove his virility and sexual prowess with his young bride so he took a large amount of stimulants one night, causing him to suffer thirteen heart attacks within a 24hr period. Ah the days before Viagra. This damaged his heart irreparably and the clock began to tick down for Peter. While on the operating table he claimed to have a near death experience, replete with all the clichés, only to be yanked into reality by his surgeon cruelly massaging his heart back to life. After this, he immersed himself even deeper into the occult and his paranoia increased. He become obsessed with the idea that the heart attacks had caused brain damage and that he would no longer be able to function normally or remember his lines. This was nonsense, of course, but no one could convince him otherwise. He was forced to pull out of the film he was making with Billy Wilder, Kiss me stupid, to which Wilder quipped, “I thought you had to have a heart to suffer a heart attack.” Ouch. Britt and Peter made two bad films together; the last was in a vain attempt to save their marriage, which succeeded only in hastening its demise. The aptly titled film the Bobo was so poorly written that it became an embarrassment for Peter. Open warfare between the two ensued on the set. There were chairs thrown, expletives hurled and threats made, all in front of a shocked cast and crew. Ekland stated that by this time, their marriage was “an atrocious sham”, though she did manage to have a child by Sellers, a girl named Victoria, before it all came to an ugly end. Decades later, Britt remarked of Sellers “if I had known what he was like, I would put him on lithium and he probably would have had a much longer and happier life.”
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland admire the new Lotus car which he bought today as an engagement present for her, at his home at Elstead in Surrey on 02 February 1964.
Husband and wife, actors Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland in their home on February 12th 1964. Photo by Larry Ellis / Express / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland on 12th May 1964, seen here spending their first quiet weekend at home since Peter's heart attack. They are living in the home of Hollywood millionaire Charles Skoras. It is the most expensive section of Beverly Hills where ex Vice President Richard Nixon once lived.
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland on 12th May 1964, seen here spending their first quiet weekend at home since Peter's heart attack. Photo by Curt Gunther / Mirrorpix / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland on 12th May 1964, seen here spending their first quiet weekend at home since Peter's heart attack. Photo by Curt Gunther / Mirrorpix / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers admires his Mini Cooper upon his return to his home in Surrey, UK, on 8 June 1964. The car was modified while he was away in Hollywood. Photo by J. Wilds / Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers in his 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast.
Actor Peter Sellers with his wife Britt Ekland after he had driven a Circassian blue Mini - a birthday present to his wife - through a gigantic cake after officially opening the new showroom for Harold Radford (Coachbuilders) Ltd at Hammersmith, London. Photo by PA Images via Getty Images.
British actor/comedian Peter Sellers drives a brand new ‘Mini’ car through a fake cake as his wife Britt Ekland ‘cuts the cake’.
Peter Sellers drives a brand new ‘Mini’ car through a fake cake as his wife Britt Ekland ‘cuts the cake’.
07th October 1965: actress Britt Ekland sitting on the Mini her husband Peter Sellers bought for her birthday, at the Radford Motor Company showroom, Hammersmith, London. Photo by David Cairns / Express / Getty Images.
Britt Ekland sits on a 'Mini' presented to her by her husband Peter Sellers, British comic actor, in Hammersmith, London, in 1965. Photo by Hulton - Deutsch Collection / Corbis via Getty Images.
07th October 1965. Actress Britt Ekland sitting on the Mini her husband Peter Sellers bought for her birthday, at the Radford Motor Company showroom, Hammersmith, London. Photo by David Cairns / Express / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers, seen here with his wife, Britt Ekland, inspecting a Ferrari 500 Superfast coupe, which he’d just bought for £11,500 at a preview of the London Motor Show at Earls Court in October 1965.
Left to right: British comic actor Peter Sellers, his wife, Swedish actress Britt Ekland and American actor Tony Curtis with a Ferrari 500 Superfast coupe, which Sellers has just bought for eleven and a half thousand pounds, at a preview of the Motor Show, Earls Court, London, 19th October 1965. Photo by Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers and Brit Ekland at the British International Motor Show in London on 19 October 1965.
Motor enthusiast Peter Sellers performing the other side of the camera when he was assigned to photo the Unipower GT on 10 May 1966.
Britt Ekland and Peter Sellers in Rome in 1966. Photo by Marka / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland.
Britt Ekland.
Britt Ekland.
British comedian and actor Peter Sellers presents a gift of a red Jaguar E-Type car to his girlfriend Britt Ekland at Heathrow airport in London on 13th March 1967. Photo by Rolls Press / Popperfoto via Getty Images / Getty Images.
Peter Sellers gifts a new Jaguar E-Type to Britt Ekland in London in 1967.
British comedian and actor Peter Sellers presents a gift of a red Jaguar E-Type car to his girlfriend Britt Ekland at Heathrow airport in London on 13th March 1967.
British comedian and actor Peter Sellers presents a gift of a red Jaguar E-Type car to his girlfriend Britt Ekland at Heathrow airport in London on 13th March 1967.
British comedian and actor Peter Sellers presents a gift of a red Jaguar E-Type car to his girlfriend Britt Ekland at Heathrow airport in London on 13th March 1967.
Britt Ekland and her husband, British actor and comedian Peter Sellers, at an event organised in support of children with disabilities in London, England, on 5th June 1967. Photo by The Calne Collection - Popperfoto via Getty Images.
Peter Sellers and his wife Britt Ekland riding matching Stella folding bikes (made in France) along the marina at Monte Carlo in 1967.
Britt Ekland with her husband Peter Sellers in Monte Carlo in 1967. Photo by Publifoto Milano – Image globe photos zumapress.com.
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland in Palm Springs. Photo by Julian Wasser.
Sharing a lilo, film stars Peter Sellers and his wife Britt Ekland spend their holiday on the Costa Smeralda, circa 1967. Photo by Slim Aarons.
Britt Ekland on her husband Peter Seller’s yacht in 1967.
Britt Ekland on her husband Peter Seller’s yacht in 1967.
Peter Sellers with Britt Ekland aboard his yacht in 1967. Photo by Terry O'Neill.
Peter Sellers with Britt Ekland aboard his yacht out on the sea in 1967. A perfect combination of style and grace. Photo by Terry O'Neill.
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland in The Bobo in 1967.
Olimpia Segura (Britt Ekland) points a shotgun at Juan Bautista (Peter Sellers) forcing him to dye himself blue in a bathtub in a scene from the movie The Bobo which was released in 1967. Photo by Michael Ochs Archive.
The singer Anita Harris and Peter Sellers in October 1967.
Peter Sellers large signed original black and white photograph with Ferrari.
Peter Sellers with his wife Britt Ekland.
Britt Ekland with a picture of Peter Sellers in New York. Photo by Mauritius Images.
Here is actor Peter Sellers with his 1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT.
Peter Sellers in his Ferrari 275 GTB.
Ferrari 275 GTB/4 #09475 ex-Peter Sellers restoration. This left hand drive Ferrari 275 GTB/4 was completed at the factory in January 1967, it was delivered new to its first owner in Switzerland a couple of months later, Mr Panchaud of Lausanne. Then in circa 1969 the car was purchased by Peter Sellers CBE. An avid petrolhead, Sellers had owned a number of cars including both a 250 GTE and 500 Superfast. With quite the eclectic taste, he sold the white GTE after a week, reportedly falling out of love with the colour- hoping it might change after a week in the sun! Spending much time in Geneva at the time, the car was used as his daily driver for several years. The car was regularly seen and a number of photographs exist of him with the car. At the time of his ownership, the car was finished in Celeste over Biscuit hide as it presents today. In 2015, having spent nearly 40 years finished in Rosso Corsa over Nero, DK Engineering were later tasked with a comprehensive bare metal restoration. The car was stripped down by hand, revealing very original metalwork underneath, although much in need of treatment in those prone areas. The job was absolutely and totally comprehensive as is DK’s way, even the fibreglass floors were removed and restored (often left in place during restoration). The car was found to be in good original order with traces of the Celeste paint clearly evident making it easy to match the shade perfectly. Once painted the entire mechanical assembly and wiring loom were refitted to the car having being totally restored at DK whilst the metal and paint work was being executed. Whilst tried and in need of work, the components wee found to be in the main the original items that were able to be restored and conserved. Of course the engine and transaxle were both totally dismantled and rebuilt to original specifications with all new consumable parts where required such as pistons, valves and bearings. Great car and attention was paid to the engine in particular to apply our in house modifications that help overcome the inevitable oil leaks of a 4 cam that come about as a result of a flaw in the original design and equally, something only possible to rectify as a result of a extreme knowledge of the marque. As is common practice for our concours restorations, the car was sent to world famed O'Rourke Coachtrimmers who installed the interior, once more in Biscuit VM3218 Hide. Completed in mid-2019, the car has completed its post restoration shakedown as is required by our fastidious approach when around 1,000 kms were covered by those involved in the restoration to ensure the car today is in perfect running order, with all imperfections now corrected and the running in service complete. As attested by our DKTV videos, reviewed by the great Inspector Clouseau himself!
Peter Sellers with his girlfriend, Swedish model Christina 'Titi' Wachtmeister, at London's Heathrow Airport, UK, on 23 November 1974. Photo by R. Brigden / Express / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.
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