Car from Ian Fleming`s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fetches $505,000 at auction
04-Jun-2007 • Collecting
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It was bought by Florida resident Ralph Spencer, who already owns a Batmobile.
"I've always liked this car," he said after making his purchase. "I was a fan of the movie."
The 1968 film, which starred Dick Van Dyke, was based on a book by James Bond author Ian Fleming and featured a script by children's writer Roald Dahl.
Fleming wrote the novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car, in 1961 while recovering from a heart attack.
It was originally envisaged as three separate stories but was published as one in 1964.
As well as the film, the story has been turned into a successful stage musical.
Several vehicles were built for the film, two of which can be found at the Cars of the Stars motor museum in Keswick, UK.
The model auctioned at the weekend had previously been displayed in a Chicago restaurant known as JR's Retreat.
It was being sold to help pay off a bankruptcy debt, according to the auction listings.
"The car was in storage for so long, it needed a little work," said Dean Kruse, president of Kruse Auction Park.
Nonetheless, the winged vehicle attracted several fans of the film - including David Stefanchick, 48, who brought his family from Cincinnati to the auction to see it in person.
"I'm thinking about building a replica," he told the Reuters news agency.
"Just think about the reaction of the kids in the neighbourhood if they saw this thing rolling down the street. The ice cream truck wouldn't stand a chance."
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