By modern movie standards "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" may seem dated but it was, and still is, a charming film about an eccentric inventor (Dick Van Dyke), his children and lady friend (Julie Andrews), and a magical racing car that could fly, float, and drive through all sorts of harrowing adventures. The movie was developed from a children's novel written by James Bond author Ian Fleming, whose inspiration came from a series of aero-engined cars built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s. Production Designer Ken Adam insisted that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had to be a real car so it was made on a custom made ladder-frame chassis with a Ford V6 engine and automatic transmission. The wheels were period correct, decks were from a boat builder, brass fittings from Edwardian wrecks. Happily, the car was not destroyed. Pierre Picton, who was involved with the film production, bought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, "still owns and maintains it", still drives the car to charity events in England.

Carolyn Pointing fell in love with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the tender age of three. She has a sizeable collection of Chitty memorabilia but for Carolyn and her husband Nick, that wasn't enough. Looking for a project to get them off the couch on Sunday mornings, they decided to build their own Chitty Chitty Bang Bang replica. Nick taught himself to weld and found a 1973 Series III Land Rover to donate its frame and running gear. Parts came from a wide variety of sources, wood from a boatyard, headlamps from a retail store's housewares department. A Mitsubishi Galant donated several parts and even a Singer sewing machine contributed a few pieces. Stills from the film and a Corgi model were used as reference. The Pointings are planning a 12,000 mile journey to Australia, along the way raising money for the Earl Mountbatten hospice, Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the World Wildlife Fund. Obviously Chitty still has the magic.

[Source: Autoblog]