Beaulieu National Motor Museum 18-09-2012 av Karen Roe

1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 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 film's director, commissioned Alan Mann to build six versions of the car including two built in its supposed original racing form. Each one measured around 18.5 feet long and just over 6 feet wide. At 5.5ft high and weighing 1500 kilos (1.5tons), they were powered by V6 Ford Zodiac engines with automatic transmission. The cars were road tested at up to 100mph before Broccoli's technicians added wings and propellers to one and a hovercraft skirt to another. Housing a collection of over 250 automobiles and motorcycles telling the story of motoring on the roads of Britain from the dawn of motoring to the present day, the award winning (Winner - The International Historic Motoring Awards of the Year 2012) National Motor Museum appeals to all age groups. From World Land Speed Record Breakers including Campbell’s famous Bluebird to film favourites such as the magical flying car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and rare oddities like the giant orange on wheels. Don’t miss exciting extra features such as the Motorsport Gallery, Wheels and Jack Tucker's Garage - A permanent, multi award-winning 1930's garage has been created within the Museum, complete down to the last nut and bolt and rusty drainpipe. Whilst the building is a complete fabrication, everything in it - all the fixtures, fittings, tools and ephemera - are genuine artefacts collected over a period of 25 years.