Original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car up for sale

15 May 2011 Last updated at 14:15 ET Watch: Peter Bowes test drives Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, one of the most loved cars in the world, is going up for auction in Los Angeles.

The star of the 1968 family movie was shipped to California from England to go under the hammer on Sunday.

The unique vehicle, which is still in working order, is expected to fetch up to $2m (￡1.2m).

For the past four decades it has been kept in Stratford-upon-Avon by owner Pierre Picton, the man who looked after it on set.

It has appeared at hundreds of shows and charity road races, but has never been auctioned until now.

Magical being

There were several Chitty Chitty Bang bang cars made for the film, but this was the only one that actually worked.

It was driven in the movie by Dick Van Dyke, who played the eccentric inventor who takes his children on the adventure of a lifetime.

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I think it's the most recognisable car in the world - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity”

End Quote Joe Maddalena Profiles in History The vehicle was designed by Ken Adam and built by the Ford Racing Team.

Its bonnet is crafted of polished aluminium; the boat deck is hand-crafted of red and white cedar, and the brass fittings taken from Edwardian cars.

The car is powered by a Ford 3 litre V6 engine and has a dashboard plate from a British World War I fighter plane.

Chitty was completed in 1967 and registered with the number plate GEN 11, given to her by Ian Fleming, who wrote the novel the film was based on. The registration spells the Latin word "genii", meaning magical person or being.

It is being sold by a Hollywood memorabilia company Profiles in History, which says the vehicle is attracting interest from around the world.

"I think it's the most recognisable car in the world," said Joe Maddalena, the company's owner.

"This car is the best of the best. It takes your breath away. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for a car collector or museum."

Bits: Is the iPad 2 a Lot Better Than the Original?

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple says the iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than the original model.

Over the weekend,?Chris Dixon, an?entrepreneur?and co-founder of the social site?Hunch, lamented on Twitter?that he still had not purchased a new iPad 2. Although Mr. Dixon hopes to buy the highly coveted device soon, he questioned whether it was a “must have” upgrade from the first generation iPad.

I responded, along with a number of other Twitter users, that the new model had changed everything for me.?I personally find that I use the iPad 2 for about 15 hours a week; when I owned the first-generation iPad, I used it for only one to two hours a week.

For me, there are several explanations. The iPad 2 answered a number of complaints I had with the previous model, which always felt a little too heavy and slow. Although the new model is only slightly smaller around the edges — Apple shaved millimeters off the exterior bezel — it is quite a bit thinner and lighter. As a result it is easier to hold when reading or surfing the Web. It is also more manageable on a morning commute.

Others I spoke with who have upgraded iPads also liked it better than the original version.

“Although the new iPad isn’t dramatically thinner, lighter or faster than the first, the collection of small improvements Apple has made make it feel like a huge deal,” said?Alex Rainert, a designer who is head of product at the location-based start-up?Foursquare. “The first iPad always felt a bit too heavy when typing or surfing the Web. The changes to the second generation make it feel like a fundamentally more usable device.”

For me, the iPad 2 also feels considerably faster than its predecessor. In part this is because the new smart cover, as I’ve written in the past, turns the device on as soon as you open it.? Typing is quicker, apps are more responsive, and the Web browser to me feels almost as fast as that of a desktop computer. In the past, the browser was extremely slow with image-heavy Web sites.

Justin Ouellette, a developer at BetaWorks, noted that the?small increases in performance on the iPad went further than they would on a desktop computer.

“The iPad kind of ‘becomes’ whatever app you’re currently running, and being more powerful and physically slighter allows it to deliver that transparent experience ever more convincingly,” Mr. Ouellette wrote in an e-mail. “The best user interface is one you don’t notice because it never lags or causes you trouble.”

What do you think? For those of you who have upgraded to an iPad 2, do you think it’s a big improvement? Is it a “must have” upgrade?