Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a timeless classic: a gripping, fast-paced children's adventure story, written by Ian Fleming to read to his son, Caspar.

It was first published in 1964 with illustrations by John Burningham.

The car was inspired by the racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski at Higham Park in Kent.

Sadly, Ian Fleming never lived to see the book published: he died in 1964, two months before it came out.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the feature-film, loosely based on the book and co-written by Roald Dahl, was released in 1968.