CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG on Tour!


		Jump to: >> The Real Chitty >> Film Cars >> Ian Fleming >> Chitty Facts >> The Film The Real Chitty The real Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was built in 1921 by Count Louis Zborowski, perhaps the best known amateur racing driver of his time, who lived at Higham Place, a large country house, near Canterbury in Kent. The son of a Polish Count and American mother, Zborowski was an eccentric gentleman wealthy enough to own and race many cars both in Europe and America. He took racing very seriously but was known for his fun approach and colourful clothing (especially chequered golfing caps) so one could suggest similarities with Fleming's creation of Caractacus Potts. At Higham, along with his engineer Captain Clive Gallop, he built four aero-engined cars and called three of them Chitty Bang Bang. A fourth 'monster' car, also built at Higham, was called the Higham Special or Babs and was used in Parry Thomas' fatal attempt for the land speed record at Pendine Sands in 1927. This last car survives today, fully restored, and still 'takes to the concrete' at Brooklands on special occasions. Chitty 1 was the first amateur aero-engined machine to achieve great fame at Brooklands race track. The 23 litre six cylinder Maybach Gotha Bomber engine was obtained from the WWI Disposals Board, and shoe-horned into a pre 1914 chain drive Mercedes chassis, which had to be lengthened to accommodate it. First appearing at the Brooklands Easter meeting in 1921 with a four seat body, and obviously inefficient exhaust system, it was described as 'a brutal car put together by a madman', but Count Zborowski was more astute than he first appeared. The car's initial shortcomings were probably a ruse to avoid ridicule if the car failed on its first time out. An unnecessary ruse though, as Chitty won two races and came second in another (behind another Zborowski car). The first win was the 100 mph Brooklands Short Handicap at a speed of 100.75 mph. By Whitsun a two seater duck's back racing body had been fitted and modifications included a cowled radiator and having the exhaust system properly flowed in. The poor showing earlier and crudeness of the vehicle had fooled the handicappers and guaranteed him a place on the starting line with a ten second advantage. The new Chitty was even more successful and the Count trounced his competitors (especially a 350 hp V12 Sunbeam) in the first race. The advantage was removed for the second race but she was clocked at 120 mph down the railway straight. Despite further handicap revisions in the following months Chitty continued to impress. Chitty 2 was constructed in the Summer of the same year, similar to the first car but with a shorter wheelbase, an early Mercedes chassis and an 18.8 litre Benz BZ IV series aero-engine. Both Chittys ran at the autumn 1921 Brooklands meeting but for various reasons neither was successful on the day. Chitty 2 never raced at Brooklands again but was kept by 'Lou' as a much loved and very fast road car. He even drove it deep into the Sahara in January 1922 on a tour undertaken with friends. After many years in America Chitty 2 was loaned to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in 1992 and is now in private ownership. During the 1922 Whitsun meeting at Brooklands Chitty 1 achieved her fastest lap at 113.45 mph. She missed the August meeting but returned in September for what was to be her last outing. Brooklands was built as a record breaker's track - 100 feet wide concrete all the way round with a very steep, almost vertical in places, gradient on the two banked sections. In practice Chitty shed a tyre and left the banking at high speed smashing straight through the timing box at the beginning of Railway straight. A track official named Mr Chamberlain was in the box and saw the car coming but could not avoid being clipped as it crashed through, losing three of his fingers as a result. Chitty 1 was rebuilt but never raced again by the Count. He became part of the Mercedes team in 1924 and perished soon afterwards in one of their cars, before his thirtieth birthday, hitting a tree during the Italian Grand Prix. After his death Chitty was purchased by the Conan Doyle brothers who were the sons of Sir Arthur, the author who created Sherlock Holmes. They ran her at a speed trial in the 1930s after which she was exhibited at Brooklands but subsequently abandoned outside. The elements took their toll and eventually someone sawed the chassis in half to get her gearbox for use in another car. A very sad end for a great vehicle and Fleming's inspiration for Coggin's Yard. Brooklands race track in Weybridge, Surrey was the first purpose built motor racing circuit in the world and is now open as part of a 30 acre museum celebrating its history as the birthplace of not only British motorsport but also of British aviation. Written by Mark Fox [back to top] Film Cars Ken Adam, Production Designer for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang who later won Oscars for his work on Barry Lyndon and The Madness of King George, was adamant that as the star of the film only a real car would be good enough. Rowland Emmett was already on board to design all the mad inventions that appeared in the film so he too had an input. They were joined by the Ford racing team, headed by Alan Mann, and together set out to create a film and motoring legend. The all important engine was a Ford 3000 V6 with Automatic transmission and the vehicle was actually registered with Ian Fleming's invented number plate - GEN 11 (reading as Genii to mean magical being) so that it could be used in road driving sequences - the UK registration system would not allow the more familiar British spelling of Genie. The vehicle weighed approximately two tons, was seventeen feet long and built on a custom made ladder frame chassis. No detail was spared in her creation to ensure that she stood up to the close scrutiny of the 70 mm film camera. The Corgi model of the film Chitty became one of their most sought after models and are still much treasured although most of them probably no longer have a working wing mechanism following years of heavy play. Corgi have recently released a new version of the original toy. Chitty paid a visit to the London Palladium in November 2001 to launch the stage version of the much loved film and, as usual, created a great deal of interest, not least from the Westminster traffic wardens! Written by Mark Fox [back to top] Ian Fleming The man whose imagination gave flight to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is best known as the author of 14 books about the world's most famous secret agent - James Bond 007. These enormously successful books, which have sold over 72 million copies, were written between 1952 and 1964 when Fleming died at the age of 56. The first book to be filmed was Dr.No in 1962 and this marked the beginning of the incredibly successful and popular series of Bond films, all of which have been produced by Albert R. Broccoli's Eon productions. There have been 19 films in all and 5 different actors playing James Bond - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and the present holder of the role, Pierce Brosnan, playing Bond for his fourth time in the 20th film, Die Another Day. Fleming was born in 1908 in London to a banking family, originally from Scotland. His father was killed in World War I when he was 8. He was educated at Eton and trained briefly for the army at Sandhurst. He finished his studies in Munich and Geneva, becoming proficient in German and French. After failing the exam for the Foreign Office, he joined Reuters as a journalist and worked briefly in Moscow. From 1933 to 1939 he was a stockbroker in London. When World War II broke out, he was recruited to work in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty, rising to the rank of commander. It was here that he acquired a thorough knowledge of intelligence work, and many of his experiences and acquaintances found their way into his novels. For instance, Admiral Godfrey, to whom he was Personal Assistant, was the model for 'M'. Even the name, James Bond, was taken from a real person - an American ornithologist. After the war, Fleming returned to newspapers, and became the foreign manager of Kemsley newspapers, holding the post until 1959. It is likely that in this job, he, or his foreign correspondents, did some covert work for the Foreign Office. It is however known that he was involved in the founding of the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA. His first published work was in fact a style guide for foreign correspondents. The actual James Bond books were Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), Moonraker (1955), Diamonds are for Ever (1956), From Russia With Love (1957), Dr. No (1958), Goldfinger (1959), For Your Eyes Only (1960), Thunderball (1961), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963), You Only Live Twice (1964), The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) and Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966). In addition to the novels, Fleming published a travel book, Thrilling Cities, based on articles first published in The Sunday Times, as well as an account of the diamond trade, The Diamond Smugglers. His journalism included a weekly column, Atticus in the Sunday Times. He was an avid book collector, and a keen golfer. In 1952 he married Ann, Lady Rothermere in Jamaica, where he had a home, and began the first Bond novel. He spent two winter months there every year from then on and most of his writing was completed in the house which he had named Goldeneye. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written for his son, Caspar. Although a work of pure fantasy, it was rooted in the truth. There was a car named Chitty Bang Bang (just one Chitty) which had belonged to a Prince Zborowski. The story begins with a wrecked and rusting car, the fate of the real Chitty. Like all Fleming's writing it included all the elements of adventure which he enjoyed - beautiful cars and bombs and spies. Caspar, the first to enjoy Chitty's magic, died tragically in 1975. The book was first published in the year of Fleming's death (1964) and reached the silver screen 4 years later. The screenplay was adapted in part by the children's author, Roald Dahl (who also wrote the film version of You Only Live Twice). The movie has been a regular family favourite ever since. Written by Mark Fox [back to top] Chitty Facts DID YOU KNOW..... Chitty and James Bond have more in common than just sharing Ian Fleming as their author. The film of Chitty was produced by Albert R. (Cubby) Broccoli as were all the first seventeen Bond films. Desmond Llewelyn who played Q in the Bond films until his death in 2000 played the scrap dealer Coggins and Gert Frobe was the villain Goldfinger as well as Baron Bomburst. Also every Bond film features a car with some extra special built in gadgetry to help 007 in his quest. There is a Trivial Pursuit game card which asks 'Which British spy novelist wrote the children's story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?' The film screenplay was written by prolific children's author Roald Dahl and the film's director Ken Hughes. The song "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was nominated for an Oscar in 1968. The Sherman Brothers also wrote the songs for Disney's Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book as well as countless other films including The Slipper and the Rose. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was originally published as separate adventures in three separate volumes over 1964 and 1965. It was not published in a single volume in England until 1971. Some of Rowland Emett's strange and wonderful inventions for the film are housed and on show at the Mid-America Science Museum. Locations used in the film include Ibstone Windmill, Buckinghamshire and Neuschwanstein Castle near Munich. This castle was built by King Ludwig Konig of Bavaria as a temple to Wagner based on designs by Christian Janck which were in turn inspired by Angelo Il Quaglio's stage sets for the 1867 production of Lohengrin. The films cast included many British comedy favourites in supporting roles including Benny Hill as the toymaker, Barbara Windsor, Arthur Mullard, Bernard Spear, Stanley Unwin, Davy Kaye, Max Bacon, Kenneth Waller and Max Wall. Empire magazine recently rated the film's child catcher scenes amongst the 100 most frightening ever filmed. [back to top] The Film Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli O.B.E. Producer - Original Film Legendary film producer A.R. 'Cubby' Broccoli originally brought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the screen in 1968. Born in New York in 1909, he began his career in the film industry as an assistant director for Howard Hughes. He also worked as a theatrical agent in Hollywood before coming to England in 1951 to launch Warwick Films with Irving Allen. Among the successes which followed were The Red Beret, Hell Below Zero, Cockleshell Heroes and The Trials of Oscar Wilde. In 1961, in association with Harry Saltzman, he formed Eon Productions and began the series of films starring Ian Fleming's James Bond hero, starting with Dr. No in 1962. The Broccoli Saltzman partnership continued with From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, The Man With the Golden Gun and Live and Let Die. In 1976 the partnership ended and Broccoli continued the series with The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. He then co-produced with stepson Michael G. Wilson A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. In 1995 he decided that he would present Goldeneye but leave the day-to-day producing to Michael G. Wilson and his daughter Barbara. Cubby Broccoli died in 1996 knowing that the James Bond series that he started would continue well into the next century. Although he was internationally recognised as being the man behind the James Bond films, Cubby Broccoli was most proud of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He carefully handpicked his key James Bond collaborators to help him bring Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the screen. Ken Hughes Film Director and Co-Screenplay Writer Born in Liverpool in 1922, Ken Hughes set his heart on a film career when at the age of 14 he won a national film contest. His introduction to the film industry was as a rewind boy in the projection booth at his local cinema. Moving to London he joined the BBC, became a fully qualified sound engineer and at the age of 21 he wrote, produced and photographed his first documentary. In 1952, he directed his first feature Wide Boy. Prior to directing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (which he co-wrote with Roald Dahl) he had directed more than 20 films including Joe Macbeth, Arrividerci Baby and the highly acclaimed The Trials of Oscar Wilde produced by Cubby Broccoli. His other numerous film credits include Cromwell and Sextette. Ken Hughes died in Los Angeles in 2001. Roald Dahl Co-Screenplay Writer Roald Dahl was born in 1916. He began his writing career when he was encouraged to write by C.S. Forrester, whom he met while posted in Washington as an assistant air attache in 1943. His first book was The Gremlins, soon followed by other tales for children including James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl's popularity became a phenomenon. He won numerous awards, including, in the UK, the Whitbread Award 1983 for The Witches and the Children's Book Award in 1988 for Matilda. Dahl's first screenplay credit was for You Only Live Twice followed by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ken Adam Film Designer Ken Adam entered the film industry in 1947, following his discharge from the Royal Air Force. He worked as an art director on many European based films for Robert Aldrich and John Ford, and went on to work on Around the World in Eighty Days. His association with Cubby Broccoli began with The Trials of Oscar Wilde and continued with his spectacular and highly acclaimed sets for 7 James Bond films. His other film credits include such classics as Dr. Strangelove, Goodbye Mr. Chips and The Ipcress File. He has also been honoured with 2 Academy Awards for his work on Barry Lyndon and The Madness of King George. Ken recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors' Guild. [back to top]