Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes down to earth as auction bargain
CHITTY CHITTY Bang Bang, the famous car that cost £175,000 to build for the stage show version of the story starring comedian Jason Manford, is being sold for about £9,000.
Other items include a Zeppelin set with hanging Grandpa’s shed, the toy maker’s shop front and the child catcher’s bike with cage – including ice cream cones, lollipops and a child catching net.
Fans can even get their hands on an automated breakfast machine – one of the more successful inventions of protagonist Caractacus Potts, played by Dick Van Dyke in the 1968 film. The original musical film was directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay cowritten by Hughes and Roald Dahl. The props up for auction were used in the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stage show which toured the UK and Ireland between 2015 and 2017. The collection will go under the hammer in a live webcast auction on June 21 at Hansons Auctioneers.
Auctioneer Charles Hanson said: “We’re thrilled to be selling Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I grew up watching the film and was spellbound by the magic of the flying car.
“It was part of my childhood, as it was for millions of people across the world. The Chitty we’re selling is a wonderful piece of theatre history, unique to the show it was used in and incredibly rare.”
Chitty’s price guide is set at £6,000 to £9,000 – which would be a bargain for any successful bidder, as the car cost £175,000 to build – including the lifting apparatus required to make her fly.
The show’s producer John Stalker said there were no plans to restage the show, adding: “We would love them to go to a Chitty-loving home.”