Home | About | Book | Cars | Cast & Crew | Collection | Contact Us | FAQs | Links | Songs | Stage Musical | Story

The Cars

There were six cars constructed for the film. Some have survived are are listed below. There have also been a number of replicas created. I have received many kind e-mails over the years from Chitty fans around the world. Since some of these e-mails have provided conflicting information, what follows is a brief summary and some pictures of the various versions, along with first-hand information that I have gathered regarding Chittys 1, 2, and 3. Click thumbnail pictures for a larger version.

If you have corrections to this information, please contact us.

Misc. Updates and Links

• Two cars were owned by the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, England, which closed in May 2011. The two Chitty cars were sold to the Dezer Car Museum in Miami, Florida.
  
• Tony Garofalo in Long Island built a beautiful Chitty replica and has an extensive collection of memorabilia www.nychitty.com
  
• Beaulieu in the UK has constructed a replica, using some components from an original film car www.beaulieu.co.uk/news/workshop-blog-august-2016/
  
• There is a Chitty replica on the Isle of Wight, built on the frame of a 1973 Landrover! www.chitty.org.uk
• Here's the Facebook page of a fun three-wheeled Chitty replica built on a Reliant Rialto chasis! www.facebook.com/threewheelchitty
  
• Gordon Grant of the UK built a replica and later sold it to Chris Evans of BBC radio
• Mat Klemp in Illinois and Stuart Wallis in the UK have both created replicas. Lots of stories on the Internet about them if you search.
  
• Wikipedia has a page about the cars.
  

Chitty #1:

Pierre Picton's car photographed in London, May 2001.

The car used for most of the driving sequences in the film was previously owned by Pierre Picton.

It was the only one registered with the number plate GEN 11 and it also has wings which were added for promotional purposes in 1968. Mr. Picton purchased it from MGM.

In 2010 it was shipped to the United States, where Profiles in History planned to sell it at auction on May 15, 2011. There were no bidders, but the car was reportedly sold to Sir Peter Jackson and is currently located in New Zealand. There was a story on the SyFy show "Hollywood Treasure" about the auction company staff's visit with Pierre and the subsequent auction.

Chitty #2:

 
Here I am in another Chitty, identifiable by the aluminum exhaust and simulated brass radiator surround. Both of these pictures were taken on February 14, 2005, the day that box office sales opened for the Broadway production.

Here is another view of what I believe is the same Chitty, while on tour in the United States in 1998, identifiable by the aluminum (not brass) radiator surround.

This "all aluminum" model was used in water scenes but never floated. It was used primarily for scenes when the car is trapped by the tide. The aluminum features were to keep costs down and to avoid the tarnishing of the brass by sea-water. It appears on screen for less than 30 seconds! Because it looked so different, they didn't end up using the transition scenes using this car. Instead, they re-shot these in the pool at Pinewood Studios using another Chitty.

This car was also driven in the 2004 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is still owned by EON Productions and is used for promotional purposes.

Chitty #3:

This Chitty was part of the "Cavalcade of Cars" exhibit at the (now closed) Gaslight Village Amusement Park in Lake George, New York. Facebook fan page

It was definitely used in the scene at the end of the film when Chitty takes off from Vulgaria.

In 1990 it was sold at auction to a man in Chicago, where it was on display in his restaurant until it went bankrupt. Here is the text of an article from the time of that sale:

USA TODAY, August 21, 1990

Commuter's Dream: The four-wheeled star of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the 1968 movie, is expected to sell for more than $250,000 at the giant Kruse International Auburn '90 car auction, Aug 30-Sept 4. in Auburn, Indiana. This is the winged version--one of two models used in the filming (the non-winged version sold in 1987 for $105,000). It had been displayed at a Lake George, NY., amusement park since 1975. The car doesn't actually fly, but it comes with wax models of Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, and two children, which you can use to sneak into the car pool lanes during rush hour.

It was sold at a Kruse auction again in 2007 and was purchased by a collector in Jacksonville, Florida. I saw the car in person in 2010, and it has been lovingly restored. It still has the wings and propellers. The wings unfold and the propellers turn with power from an electric battery.

Top