1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The inspiration for Ian Fleming's 1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was from four high-performance vehicles built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s, dubbed 'Chitty Bang Bang.' The first Zborowski-built vehicle used a Maybach aviation engine that displaced 23 liters; the second called the Higham Special, used an 18.8-liter engine that produced 230 horsepower. The third car was a modified Mercedes chassis and a Mercedes single overhead camshaft six-cylinder aero engine tuned to produce 160 horsepower. The fourth car, known as the 'Higham Special,' was powered by a 27-liter V12 Liberty aero engine capable of producing an astonishing 450 horsepower.

There were six examples of the late-1960s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and several replicas have subsequently been created. These vehicles were featured in the book, musical film, and stage production of the same name.

The six cars created served different purposes; the first example was a road-going, fully-function vehicle that was registered GEN 11 in the United Kingdom and GEN 1i in New Zealand. The third car, UK registered as GEM 11, was engineless and used for close-ups. The fourth car was the flying model and the sixth car was a boat.

The flying car had wings, folding propellers, and fiberglass components. The car used for the water scene was mounted a speed boat and its steering wheel was non-functional. These 'prop' was destroyed after filming.

The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang story, created by Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, and Ken Hughes, was about an unlucky inventor who transforms an old Grand Prix car into a magical vehicle. Accompanied by his children, they embark on a magical adventure to save his grandfather. Actors who starred in the film include Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, and Lionel Jeffries.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2024

This Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, currently in the Stahls Automotive Collection, was used in Ian Fleming's film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang released in 1968, in the scenes where the vehicle drove itself.
By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2024