A RARE car which appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will form part of a Hampshire exhibition celebrating the movie's 50th anniversary.
The fantasy film featured a 1912 Austro-Daimler 27/80 Prince Henry which was used by wealthy industrialist Lord Scrumptious, played by legendary actor James Robertson Justice.
It will join other vehicles from the 1968 movie which are already on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.
They include an original Chitty used in the film, a Humber 8hp driven by Lord Scrumptious’s daughter Truly and the horse-drawn cage used by the Child Catcher.
The Prince Henry is thought to be one of only four surviving examples of a model known as one of the world’s first sports cars.
A Beaulieu spokesman said: “Only about 50 were built and this car has been in the same family for more than six decades.
“The current keeper’s grandfather, vintage and veteran car dealer Cecil Bendall, bought it for £310 in 1956 from the estate of Herbert Whitley, who founded Paignton Zoo.
“Mr Bendall restored the car before using it to compete in numerous events staged by the Veteran Car Club and Vintage Sports Car Club.”
In the film the vehicle was used by spies involved in the kidnap of Grandpa Potts, played by Lionel Jeffries.
Other members of the cast included comedian Benny Hill, who lived in Southampton before moving to London in 1941 to pursue his show business career.
The Beaulieu exhibition was opened last October in a ceremony attended by one of the actors from the film.
Adrian Hall played one of two children transported to Vulgaria - home of the evil Baron Bomburst - after Chitty falls off a cliff and sprouts wings.
Lord Montagu was at the wheel of a reconstructed Chitty when it emerged from a replica of Coggins Garage as Beaulieu recreated a scene from the movie.
The garage is below a gallery which is home to one of the six Chittys used in the film.
Lord Montagu said: “I remember seeing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a seven-year-old. The thought of a flying car was so exciting and the music has stayed in my head for 50 years.”
Guests at the opening included Rupert Howes, nephew of actress Sally Ann Howes, now 88, who played Truly.
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