A Car John Bonham Probably Drove Into a Ditch Is Headed to Auction

Fans of classic cars and classic rock will have the chance to bid on a car once owned (and maybe crashed) by Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. 

The drummer’s 1972 Jensen Interceptor III will hit the block via Iconic Auctioneers this Saturday, July 25, starting at 11 a.m. local time in the U.K. The reef blue car with the red interior is expected to fetch between £40,000 – £50,000 (between $53,000 and $66,000). 

The listing for the Interceptor doesn’t say much about Bonham’s relationship with this particular car, other than the fact that his association with it is “well documented.” What exactly that means — beyond there being a solid paper trail confirming Bonham’s ownership — is a somewhat open question.

It’s possible, though, that this is the same Jensen Interceptor that Bonham drove into a ditch in September 1977. Both Bob Spitz’s 2021 Zeppelin biography and Chris Salewicz’s 2018 Jimmy Page biography mention this incident, which involved a Jensen Interceptor. 

In Spitz’s slightly more vivid telling, Bonham was driving his Interceptor home from a pub in the Worcestershire village of Cutnall Green. Bonham was “speeding as usual, shitfaced as usual” when his Interceptor spun off the road and landed in a ditch. The crash reportedly flung the drummer sideways, and he broke two of his ribs. He was, however, able to get himself out of the car and stumble the rest of the way home.  Trending Stories Tedeschi Trucks Band Cancel Newport Appearance After Susan Tedeschi Needs Surgery Justin Bieber’s Weird ‘Everything Hallelujah’ Song Gets 240 Percent Streaming Bump After World Cup Brad Paisley Recalls ‘Cat-and-Mouse’ Details of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Wedding The Tate Brothers’ Legal Problems Are Getting Worse. Here’s the Latest

To that end, the listing for the Interceptor does note that the car’s current owner acquired it in “barn find condition and in need of a comprehensive rebuild.” Between 2020 and 2023, the owner restored the car, with the entire project reportedly costing over £83,000 (about $110,000). 

A rep for Iconic Auctioneers did not immediately return a request for comment on whether this is, indeed, the same car Bonham crashed.