According to Fleming, the original Chitty Bang-Bang was built in 1920; it used a pre-War Mercedes chassis with a six-cylinder Maybach military aeronautical engine that was typically fitted to Zeppelins.

The engine had four overhead valves per cylinder and twin Zenith carburetors; the car was more than 5 short tons (4.5 t) with a bonnet 8 ft (2.4 m) long, finished in grey.

At the time the Pott family purchased it, the car was a long, low four-seater in wrecked condition, lacking a bonnet and with British racing green paint peeling off in strips.

[1]: 16–17  After purchasing the derelict racer, the children excitedly note the old registration tag, "GEN 11", could be construed as "genii", referring to the powerful magical servants.

[1]: 21  Caractacus Pott restored the car over a period of three months, and noted "certain modifications, certain changes, had, so to speak, taken place all by themselves during the night, when I wasn't there.

This car was designed by the film's production designer, Ken Adam, and cartoonist and sculptor Frederick Rowland Emett, built by Alan Mann Racing in Hertfordshire in 1967, fitted with a contemporary Ford 3000 Essex V6 engine and automatic transmission and allocated a genuine UK registration.

[8] Externally, the main road-going Chitty prime can be distinguished from the other filming models by the presence of small position lights atop the front mud guards to meet motor vehicle standards.

He made numerous public appearances with the car up until the end of 2010,[9] including stops in Malta (1990)[10] and the city of Norwich in August 2009, to promote the theatre show.

[12][13] The auction price was expected to reach US$1–2 million, but capped at $805,000 (£495,415) with the winning bid submitted by New Zealand film director Sir Peter Jackson, who according to his spokesperson said he would use it as a charity fund-raising vehicle.

[21] This engineless Chitty was built for close-ups of the actors while driving; the body was mounted to a trailer and scenes were filmed from cameras on the tow vehicle.

It had wings, though they were slightly different than the flying Chitty, and was used for both aerial shots as well as some aquatic scenes, filmed in the Pinewood Studios pool.

[22] Pierre Picton purchased the trailer Chitty in the early 1970s and had an engine fitted to it;[2] he also modified the front-left mud guard to fly up for his circus act.

In 1991, it was purchased by and displayed at the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, then sold to Eon Productions in 2000,[30] who used the aluminium Chitty to promote the stage musical.

[33] One of the racing Paragon Panther cars filmed in the opening scenes as Number 3 was acquired by Gordon Grant and reconstructed as a Chitty replica.

[39] There is an MGM-licensed replica in the United Kingdom, built by Tony Green from the original plans for a commercial photography business over a three-year period, starting in 2000.

The car was built on a 1970s Land Rover chassis and engine and was driven 12,000 mi (19,000 km) overland to Australia in 2007/8 to raise money for charity.

[45] A replica Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car built by Gordon Grant made its debut in 2008 at Pinewood Studios[46] and was sold at an auction held on 1 December 2011 at Bonhams at Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, UK, bearing the registration plate WGG 5.

[47] The Grant Chitty was started in 1998 and took ten years to complete, using advice, assistance, and original blueprints provided by Peter Lamont, who was the assistant art director for the 1968 film; Denise Exshaw, retired set decorator and widow of Harry Pottle, the art director for the film; Lionel Whitehead, who was the chief mechanic at Alan Mann Racing; and Terry Dan, who had built the original car's wooden bodywork.

It is based on a Reliant Rialto chassis and took approximately 3 years to build in a small garage rented from the local council.

[50][51] A replica car built by retired NYPD police Sergeant, Tony Garofalo, of Long Island, New York, was completed in June 2015 after a 5-year build at a cost of over US$100,000.

It is reported that over 90% of the car has been fabricated, although the original vintage chassis, drivetrain and rear axle have been retained, with an additional conversion to 12 volts.

[54] Keith Mccracken from Northern Ireland, UK, started building his replica in 2010 completing it and making it road legal in 2012.

[55] A prop car was built in Christchurch, New Zealand for the first known stage performance of the musical, which opened at the Isaac Theatre Royal on August 23, 1986.

[60] Comedian Jason Manford, who had performed as Caractacus during the tour, was outbid by Bowden Theatre Works, who purchased the prop for £19,000.

[61] The auction also featured additional props from the production, including a vintage motorcycle, Baron Bomburst's car, and the Child Catcher's cage.

[62] At Dick Van Dyke's 2021 Kennedy Center Honors performance tribute, the car used for the televised event was designed and built by Duane Joseph Olson and crew.

It is a 3:4 scale replica of the car from the film, and features the deployable wings, inflating flotation devices, and downward-folding wheels.