A rare 1912 Austro-Daimler 27/80 Prince Henry that starred as the chauffeur-driven car of Lord Scrumptious in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is on show at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu (
www.beaulieu.co.uk), alongside the Humber 8hp driven by Truly Scrumptious, the original Child Catcher carriage, inventive machines created for the film by Rowland Emett and a replica Grandpa Potts’ hut, plus original artwork and other memorabilia.
The Austro-Daimler is one of four known surviving examples of one of the world’s first sports cars. Only about 50 of the 27/80 Prince Henry models were built, and this car has been in the same family for more than six decades.
The current owner’s grandfather (Cecil Bendall) bought it for £310 in 1956 from the estate of Herbert Whitley, who founded Paignton Zoo.
The car starred as the transport of Lord Scrumptious and was driven by spies during the kidnap of Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was released in 1968.
A decade later, its 5.7-litre engine was in need of a rebuild, and Mr Bendall later hoped to drive it in the Land’s End to John O’Groats Trial, but he passed away before the project could be completed. His grandson Tristan Jensen has since picked up the baton, with the goal of getting this impressive machine back in action.
It will be on display in Beaulieu until November.