Rare ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ car turns up in a UK barn
- Two rare vintage vehicles were found stashed in a barn
- They had spent decades parked and left to collect dust
- Despite so long off the road they were in good condition
Published on Nov 18, 2024 at 7:05 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Nov 18, 2024 at 9:36 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A super-rare 100-year-old car, that has been compared to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has been found stashed away in a Suffolk barn.
The car was stored alongside an almost-as-rare 1952 Mercedes-Benz W187.
Despite their age, the two cars were in pretty good shape overall.
The pair of classic cars were also found with old documentation and photographs.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
The 100-year-old car looked like the one from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
We’ve seen plenty of classic cars and vintage vehicles unearthed in barn finds, like this treasure trove that included a 1952 Ferrari 166MM Vignale; and this achingly cool 1981 BMW M1 that was stashed away in a garage in Italy.
But it’s rare to find cars that have earned official antique status like this 1921 Talbot-Darracq Tourer.
Rarer still is the fact that the Type 21 Open Tourer still had its original engine which, when new, could produce 16 horsepower.
Elton Murphy, from the UK Barn Finds YouTube channel, was there when the two vintage cars were removed from the barn and he couldn’t help but notice the Talbot-Darracq’s likeness to an iconic movie car.
“In the nicest way, it looks like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with the big roof,” he pointed out.
“There can’t be many in the world with a roof in this condition.”
Both the vintage vehicles were in great condition
And he’s not wrong. Both the Talbot-Darracq and its 1952 Mercedes-Benz W187 barn-mate were in solid condition.
The Talbot-Darracq had been bought by its previous owner – who has since passed away – back in 1967 and was kept on the road until the early 1980s.
Although it spent decades parked, the owner had continued to periodically turn its engine over to keep it running.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes had been picked up by its late owner during his time serving with the British Army in Germany.
He brought the car along with him on his military career, which included stints in Cyprus and the Middle East, before returning home to Suffolk.
The cars also came with documentation, including an invoice from the 1960s and a copy of the check used to pay for the Talbot-Darracq as well as some black and white snaps of its previous owners.
A real piece of automotive history.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
