If that car was in the UK then it is amazing as to my knowledge no Beaumonts were imported. GM Limited in London were the official importers of all US and Canadian GM cars and the Pontiac Concessionaires were US Concvessionaires Ltd of west London. I have been trying to see if there are any clues in the photo. The number plate appears to be either a trade plate, for dealers, or it's not a UK plate. GM South Africa did however asemble Chevy II/Novas & Acadians and Chevelles/Beaumonts, with rhd. GMSA July to December 1965 sales figures were:

CHEVELLE/BEAUMONT 1,927

CHEVY 11/ACADIAN CANSO 1,445

There were I think no Canadian servicemen in the UK at the time though there were in Germany. GM Ltd sold quite well to USAF personnel on the various air bases, plus we had and still have US Amy personnel and USN submariners. In addtion there were always well-off people, including criminals, pop stars and embassies that bought N American cars. Which makes me seriously query about whether that shot was taken in the UK.

That looks to be a Candian Pontiac. Look how the rear wheels are tucked so far in. A sure sign of a Chevrolet frame under there.

I am pretty certain that's west London, and I would guess by the cars PHOTOS TAKEN around 1965?

Here's some recent imports:

http://www.pontiacuk.com/id59.html

There used to be a red '59 Chevy Impala convertible parked in road outside a terrace of houses about a mile or so from our house, near my grandparents. By the mid-60s it got rustier and rustier and I assume was scrapped. Many years later someone who must have virtually lived in the same house had a '59 Canadian Ford Galaxie 500. Looked as though it was an original import.

-- Edited by Oracle on Saturday 15th of October 2011 04:13:55 AM

heres some history on the Parisienne

 

 

Painter Duggie Fields recalls:

The car too has its own mythology. Later on I identified it as the car used in the film of Joe Ortons Loot (not exact, FA), but I first saw it at Alice Pollock and Ossie Clarks New Years Eve party at the Albert Hall ­ a memorable event itself where both Amanda Lear and Yes (separately) took to the stage for the first time. (Taken from: Duggie Fields)

Mickey Finn, from T. Rex fame, won the Pontiac Parisienne at the Royal Albert Hall raffle (New Year 1969). He took possession of it but became paranoid at the unwanted attention it attracted to himself and his fellow passengers. One day he met Syd and they simply swapped cars (Syd had a mini).

But Syd never drove it, so it stayed parked outside the house for a couple of months. A wheel soon went missing and the car accumulated dust, parking tickets and legal notices. In Mick Rocks photo book one can see that a neighbour wrote a plea in the dust of the trunk to have the car removed. Syd's solution was simple as bonjour: he gave the car away to a stranger. It was seen being driven around South Kensington soon after.

A couple of months after Syd (and before him, Mickey Finn) got the car it was used in the 1970 British movie Entertaining Mr Sloane (not Loot). The car, with its cream red and silver interior, is featured prominently throughout the movie. The flick is not great but the pink Pontiac gives a shiny performance.
Update December 2009: the above paragraph has been corrected as Syd gave the car away before the movie was made and not, as is generally believed, the other way round. For more details: please check Anoraks and Pontiacs.

This leaves us with another enigma. The car in the movie is pink, but was midnight blue when Mick Rock photographed Syd with it. Although Mick Rock seems to remember: "Syds car was a conspicuously bright pink Pontiac Parisienne convertible" several colour pictures, probably taken by Storm Thorgerson on the same day, testify against this. JenS adds:

Syd's Pontiac was blue, midnight blue as you say. I have no idea if it was pink before that. I've only heard it was Mickey's and pink from things I've read. I cannot imagine Syd having it resprayed or painting it.

It remains a mystery when and why the kameleon car changed its colours (twice), but if one looks very close at the picture above, there appears to be a trace of 'brownish' paint under the right front light. Could this have been its original colour?

Car Sticker  

Mick Rock has taken a picture of Syd sitting on the hood of his car. A police label can be seen glued to the windshield. JenS:

Look at the date of the police sticker on Syds car. It seems to be April 1969. It occurred to me that the little twigs on the ground would come with the March winds, as this was the time of clear-cut seasons. They are very distinctive.

Unfortunately not all can be read, part of the sticker disappears in the inner fold of the book and the smaller letters dissolve with the background. The following is easily distinguishable:

DANGER KEEP OFF
(unreadable)
THIS IS
DANGEROUS LITTER
AND WILL BE REMOVED & DISPOSED OF
SEVEN DAYS HENCE

Dated the ___ day of ___ 196_
Registration No. ___
(if any) ___ F.H. CLINCH,
BOROUGH (unreadable) AND SURVEYOR

The date is more difficult to decipher, but after some tweaking it appears to be the 14th of April 1969. If the British police was as effective in 1969 as it is now it definitely pins The Madcap Laughs photo shoot date between the 14th and 21st of April 1969 and not autumn as has been said before.

The legend goes that Syd Barrett gave the car way to an admirer who happened to like it. It is improbable to assume that the wreck stayed on the street for six months without any police intervention.

-- Edited by 68sd on Friday 14th of October 2011 10:19:42 PM

VYP 74 is a November 1958 London rego. I'll check to see whether there was a '59 convertible at the London Motor Show in October. The first photo made me think that it was in Kensington, near the Albert Hall and it turns out I was right! Similar streets were filmed in Michael Caine's film THE IPCRESS FILE from a similar period.

There was a 6-cylinder '60 Parisienne 4-door Hardtop, rhd, in a '62 Norman Widsom film ON THE BEAT. You can clearly see the '59 transposed dash in the interior shots.