Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (car)
Encyclopedia
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the vintage racing car which features in the book, musical film
and stage production
of the same name. Writer Ian Fleming
took his inspiration for the car from a series of aero-engined racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski
in the early 1920s, christened "Chitty Bang Bang
". Six versions of the car were built for the film and a number of replicas have subsequently been produced. The version built for the stage production holds the record for the most expensive stage prop ever used.
, and cartoonist and sculptor Frederick Roland Emett
, built by Alan Mann Racing
in Hertfordshire in 1967, fitted with a Ford 3000 V6 engine and automatic transmission and allocated a genuine UK registration. This car was privately owned by Pierre Picton of Stratford-upon-Avon from the early 1970s until 2011. Actor Dick van Dyke, who drove the car in the film, said that "the car was a little difficult to maneuver, with the turning radius of a battleship".
Five other car props were built by the studio: a second, smaller road-going version; a transforming car; a hover-car; a flying car; and an engineless version for trailer work. Most had engines added after filming was complete and were used to promote the film throughout the world.
The second road version, which only appears in 12 seconds of the movie, was on display at The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
in Keswick, Cumbria, closed . There were construction flaws on this vehicle which made its use impractical. EON productions made a less-detailed transforming version which they use to promote the stage musical but, as it does not have an MOT certificate (of roadworthiness), is not allowed on public roads. The final road version is privately owned by Anthony Bamford, and is on display at the National Motor Museum
in Beaulieu
, UK. The hover-car was a shell mounted on a speed boat, and was destroyed after filming. Only the original road-going version bears the registration GEN 11 legitimately. One of the cars used in the film was displayed at a Chicago restaurant for many years, then sold at auction in 2007 for $505,000 to a Florida resident.
One car appeared in a humorous Public information film
aimed at British motorists, intended to remind them to pay their Vehicle excise duty
. Ironically, there was criticism as all cars built before 1 January 1973, including the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang model, are exempt from vehicle excise duty in the UK, though they have to display a tax disc showing the exemption. The PIF was a parody of the MGM film.
There is a licensed replica in the United Kingdom, built for a commercial photography business. The car is roadworthy and has the registration number GEN 22. It weighs around 1.5 tons and is nearly 18 feet long and 6 feet wide. The brass lamps are all original period pieces and the brass snake horn came from one of the original Chitty cars. The engine is a 3L V6 Ford with a BorgWarner
automatic gearbox. The car is displayed at events and in shopping centres.
Another Chitty 'replica' was build by Nick Pointing of the Isle of Wight after his wife Carolyn, a life long Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fan asked him to build her her dream car. It's not based on a 1920's chassis, but on a 1970's Land Rover one, so perhaps replica isn't the right word, but MGM approved the car for promotional work for the touring Musical. Their "Chitty" is not only road legal, the couple drove it overland to Australia in 2007/8 to prove its roadworthiness and to raise money for charity. The events of that build and trip are covered in the book "Port Out Starboard Home".
In July 2009, the EON copy of the car was prevented from being used in Norwich by the police, as the car was not roadworthy, properly registered or insured. The GEN 11, Pierre Picton car subsequently visited the city of Norwich in August 2009 to promote the show in the theatre successfully. Public appearances of the car in 2010 are listed on the GEN 11 official website, with a note that there will be no more as the car was sent to Los Angeles, USA, to be auctioned on 22 May 2011, where it was expected to fetch US$1–2m, but sold for $805,000 (£495,415) to the New Zealand film director Sir Peter Jackson, who according to his spokesperson said he would use it as a charity fund-raising vehicle. Jackson was later seen driving his children in the car in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun.
as the most expensive stage prop ever.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
and stage production
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also known as Chitty the Musical, is a stage musical based on the 1968 film produced by Cubby Broccoli. The music and lyrics were written by Richard and Robert Sherman with book by Jeremy Sams.-Productions:...
of the same name. Writer Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
took his inspiration for the car from a series of aero-engined racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski
Louis Zborowski
Count Louis Zborowski was a racing driver and automobile engineer.-Biography:His father, Count William Eliot Morris Zborowski was also a racing driver, and died in a racing crash, in 1903 at La Turbie Hillclimb in France near Nice...
in the early 1920s, christened "Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang was the informal name of a number of celebrated English racing cars, built and raced by Count Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop in the 1920s, which inspired the book, film and stage musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang....
". Six versions of the car were built for the film and a number of replicas have subsequently been produced. The version built for the stage production holds the record for the most expensive stage prop ever used.
Film cars
For the film version, six cars were created, including a fully functional road-going car with UK registration GEN 11. This car was designed by the film's production designer, Ken AdamKen Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
, and cartoonist and sculptor Frederick Roland Emett
Frederick Roland Emett
Frederick Rowland Emett OBE, his name frequently misspelled as Roland Emmett, was an English cartoonist and constructor of whimsical kinetic sculpture.- Early Life :...
, built by Alan Mann Racing
Alan Mann Racing
Alan Mann Racing was a British motor racing team. It was organized by Alan Mann, born in 1936, who was a part-time racing driver and team manager. The team ran a substantial part of the Ford works racing effort in Europe from 1964 to 1969, when it closed its doors...
in Hertfordshire in 1967, fitted with a Ford 3000 V6 engine and automatic transmission and allocated a genuine UK registration. This car was privately owned by Pierre Picton of Stratford-upon-Avon from the early 1970s until 2011. Actor Dick van Dyke, who drove the car in the film, said that "the car was a little difficult to maneuver, with the turning radius of a battleship".
Five other car props were built by the studio: a second, smaller road-going version; a transforming car; a hover-car; a flying car; and an engineless version for trailer work. Most had engines added after filming was complete and were used to promote the film throughout the world.
The second road version, which only appears in 12 seconds of the movie, was on display at The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
The Cars of the Stars Motor Museum was in the English town of Keswick, Cumbria, and owned a collection of celebrity television and film vehicles...
in Keswick, Cumbria, closed . There were construction flaws on this vehicle which made its use impractical. EON productions made a less-detailed transforming version which they use to promote the stage musical but, as it does not have an MOT certificate (of roadworthiness), is not allowed on public roads. The final road version is privately owned by Anthony Bamford, and is on display at the National Motor Museum
National Motor Museum
The National Motor Museum is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire.- History :...
in Beaulieu
Beaulieu, Hampshire
Beaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.- History :...
, UK. The hover-car was a shell mounted on a speed boat, and was destroyed after filming. Only the original road-going version bears the registration GEN 11 legitimately. One of the cars used in the film was displayed at a Chicago restaurant for many years, then sold at auction in 2007 for $505,000 to a Florida resident.
One car appeared in a humorous Public information film
Public information film
Public Information Films are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement .-Subjects:...
aimed at British motorists, intended to remind them to pay their Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle Excise Duty is a vehicle road use tax levied as an excise duty which must be paid for most types of vehicle which are to be used on the public roads in the United Kingdom...
. Ironically, there was criticism as all cars built before 1 January 1973, including the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang model, are exempt from vehicle excise duty in the UK, though they have to display a tax disc showing the exemption. The PIF was a parody of the MGM film.
There is a licensed replica in the United Kingdom, built for a commercial photography business. The car is roadworthy and has the registration number GEN 22. It weighs around 1.5 tons and is nearly 18 feet long and 6 feet wide. The brass lamps are all original period pieces and the brass snake horn came from one of the original Chitty cars. The engine is a 3L V6 Ford with a BorgWarner
BorgWarner
BorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...
automatic gearbox. The car is displayed at events and in shopping centres.
Another Chitty 'replica' was build by Nick Pointing of the Isle of Wight after his wife Carolyn, a life long Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fan asked him to build her her dream car. It's not based on a 1920's chassis, but on a 1970's Land Rover one, so perhaps replica isn't the right word, but MGM approved the car for promotional work for the touring Musical. Their "Chitty" is not only road legal, the couple drove it overland to Australia in 2007/8 to prove its roadworthiness and to raise money for charity. The events of that build and trip are covered in the book "Port Out Starboard Home".
In July 2009, the EON copy of the car was prevented from being used in Norwich by the police, as the car was not roadworthy, properly registered or insured. The GEN 11, Pierre Picton car subsequently visited the city of Norwich in August 2009 to promote the show in the theatre successfully. Public appearances of the car in 2010 are listed on the GEN 11 official website, with a note that there will be no more as the car was sent to Los Angeles, USA, to be auctioned on 22 May 2011, where it was expected to fetch US$1–2m, but sold for $805,000 (£495,415) to the New Zealand film director Sir Peter Jackson, who according to his spokesperson said he would use it as a charity fund-raising vehicle. Jackson was later seen driving his children in the car in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun.
Stage production car
Another version of the car, built for the British stage production of the story, debuted at The London Palladium In 2002. Built at a cost of £750,000, the car is listed in Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as the most expensive stage prop ever.