Pierre Picton, owner of the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, who made the film prop even more famous than the film it starred in, died on November 10 aged 82.

The famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car in front of Castille.

He will be well-remembered in Malta, especially by countless Maltese now in their mid-30s who were children when Chitty and its loveable owner came over to the island in the Christmas of 1990.

It was the same year Pope John Paul II paid the first Papal visit to Malta. And Christmas was made all the more magical for the children when Picton and the most famous car in the world visited on the invitation of David Arrigo and Ulli Salomo.

Mr Arrigo, one of Malta’s foremost car aficionados, recalls that time with great affection: “I was indeed fortunate, as probably I drove Chitty on public roads more than anyone else apart from Mr Picton. In the UK she was always taken from location to location by trailer. During Chitty’s month in Malta she was driven everywhere.”

Pedestrians and road users just could not believe their eyes seeing Chitty next to them at the traffic lights or on the Gozo ferry.

“On one occasion I spotted a friend at a bus stop in Msida. I offered her a lift to Floriana, much to the disbelief of the rest of the people, especially British tourists, standing in the bus queue.”

The car had the turning circle of a truck and was “great fun to drive”, even though it had an automatic gear-box, specially fitted for Dick Van Dyke, star of the film.

Being typically American, Mr Van Dyke was unable to drive a shift-gear car. The Ford V6 engine gave Chitty her speed and power although she was built like a tank and weighed a couple of tons.

Mr Picton delighted thousands of children and adults alike at locations around Malta, raising money for the Community Chest Fund with his comical car act.

On one occasion I spotted a friend at a bus stop in Msida. I offered her a lift to Floriana, much to the disbelief of the rest of the people, especially British tourists, standing in the bus queue

For over 40 years he toured the UK and Europe with Chitty, attending charitable events, raising awareness about road safety and becoming one of Britain’s biggest crowd pullers.

Mr Picton was born in 1934 and after stage school became an apprentice at Bertram Mills circus, learning from Coco the Clown and the Cavallini family of clowns.

He purchased a 1924 Ford Model T film stunt car of Laurel & Harvey fame from the Cavallinis and developed his own act, with the car having a mind of its own – doors falling off, water gushing from the radiator and even ejecting the driver, then driving itself.

The car comedy act brought him to the attention of ‘Cubby’ Broccoli who invited him to work on the production of the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang adapted from Ian Fleming’s children’s book.

The filmmakers decided not to use Mr Picton’s car but put him in charge of the Chitty, designed by Ken Adam and Frederick Emmett and built by Alan Mann Racing, the Bentley specialists.

After the release of the film in 1968, Mr Picton purchased the car and Chitty became the love of his life. Although there were in fact are six Chitty prop cars built for the film, Mr Picton’s car was the only complete and working model.

Pierre Picton (left), giving a thumbs up, with David Arrigo (right) and surrounded by mothers and their children.

Mr Fleming, creator of James Bond, took his inspiration from a series of aero-engined racing cars called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s. The story, well known by people of all ages, was adapted for the film by Roald Dahl and differs slightly from Fleming’s original story.

Mr Picton sold Chitty, the most recognisable car in the world, in 2011. It broke his heart but he was getting just too old to carry on his act.

The car was bought by filmmaker and Kiwi movie mogul Sir Peter Jackson – Chitty is now in New Zealand and will grace Jackson’s movie museum in Wellington. Coincidentally, Sir Peter’s namesake, the late Michael Jackson, had tried to buy Chitty off Pierre many years ago.

The musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is still running on tour in the UK.

Mr Arrigo and Mr Picton had been brought together during the Bafta/Shell Great British Film Rallies of 1989 and 1990. It was the strong relationship they built that resulted in Chitty coming to Malta.

Seeing a way to promote Malta’s tourism, Mr Arrigo and co-driver Nicky Cassar Torregiani entered an eligible Maltese car for the London to Cannes event, finishing at the Cannes Film Festival.

The following year, supported by Air Malta and the Malta Tourist Board, their 1920 Willys Overland – which featured in Shout at the Devil and Lion of the Desert, both films partly shot in Malta – was flown to Gatwick for the second Bafta/Shell event, starting from Cardiff and ending at the Edinburgh Film Festival. These were the first Maltese cars to take part in international rallies.

This year Mr Arrigo is preparing and supplying the flying cars for MADC’s panto Unbelieve It, starring Alan Montanaro.

Mr Picton is survived by his wife Susie, who also came to Malta that Christmas in 1990. He will always be remembered as the father of Chitty.