I invite you to read my post about the historic town of Mechelen on the Broad Oak Magazine blog.
1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – British
Author Ian Fleming, creator of the immortal James Bond, also wrote a children’s book about a magical car. The story was later turned into a popular film by United Artists. It was a musical extravaganza starring Dick Van Dyke as the inventor Caractacus Potts.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a car capable of skimming across the sea in the form of a hovercraft or sprouting wings and flying. At the flick of a switch, one of the rear seats could eject unwelcome guests.
Albert Broccoli, the films director, commissioned Alan Mann to build six versions of the car including two built in its supposed original racing form. Each one measured around 18 1/2 feet long and just over 6 feet wide. At 5 1/2ft high and weighing 1500 kilos (1 1/2 tons), they were powered by V6 Ford Zodiac engines with automatic transmission. The cars were road tested up to 100mph before Broccoli’s technicians wings and propellers to one and a hovercraft skirt to another.*
*From an information plaque next to the car.
8 Comments CherryPie on Oct 28th 2014
The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu houses over 250 cars and tells the story of the motor car from its early beginnings right up to the present day.
Exhibits include some of the earliest examples of motoring to legendary World Record Breakers like Bluebird, ‘Film Star’ cars like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and rare oddities like the giant orange on wheels. For a different perspective of the historic racing cars, modern rally cars, British Superbikes and latest F1 machines, view the collection from a new mezzanine gallery designed to enhance the display.
Within the museum a 1930s garage has been constructed which is complete down to the last nut, bolt and rusty drain pipe. The garage is a complete fabrication but all the fixtures, fittings and tools are genuine artifacts that have been collected over a period of 25 years.
Over the next few days I will be showing a small number of the vehicles that are housed there.
6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 27th 2014
Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.
Lord Byron
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