This engine has a surprising amount of ‘bite’, and provided the gearbox is used the car is very brisk away from a standstill and nips through traffic in an impressive manner,” according to the road tester. While the Mini changed everyone’s perception of what a small car could be, the Triumph Herald and the Anglia revolutionised their respective manufacturers’ public image with hitherto unseen sharp, angular styling. Arthur Weasley faced an inquiry at work following this incident. [4] By Christmas, the Daily Prophet reported that he was fined fifty Galleons for bewitching the Muggle car. [5] Rowling said: “That turquoise and white car meant freedom and no more having to ask my father to give me lifts, which is the worst thing about living in the countryside when you are a teenager.

In 1959, the Anglia 105E was one of three new British cars that made a significant mark on the motoring world. This is the actual Ford Anglia 105E that was once owned by Arthur Weasley. It used to be a standard Ford Anglia until Mr Weasley enchanted it making it able to fly, become invisible to Muggles and to carry his entire family despite its modest size. Officers said the car could be seen from the road, and believed a Harry Potter fan or classic car enthusiast had moved it with a trailer as the car could not be driven, the BBC reported at the time. Continue the magical excitement outdoors with this Harry Potter LEGO set! Ron appears at the upstairs window with Mr Weasley’s famous Ford Anglia flying car! Open the boot to find the chain, attach it to the window, and in no time, they pull the window off. Make this memorable moment last with the LEGO Harry Potter set. J. K. Rowling said in 1999 that it was supposed to reappear in a future book. It is unknown what became of this. [7]

Despite being referred to as a "1959" model, the Anglia 105E was not launched until October of that year and would be considered a 1960 model under most standards, except the UK where it would be known as a 1959 Model. Details on the Weasleys' car peg it as 1963 or earlier. Harry Potter fans will have endless fun with all its features in all the dolls house settings. This LEGO Harry Potter building brings imaginative play opportunities all over the fully equipped 2-storey house, including Harry’s secret cupboard under the stairs. The Dursley House also features the flood of Hogwarts acceptance letters through the fireplace. In summary, the magazine was full of praise for the upgraded Anglia: “Economical, robust, safe, easy to drive and extremely ‘biddable’, the Anglia Super 1200 offers everything to be expected of a strictly four-seater family car – plus more lively performance, a degree of attention to detail and superior finish that raise it above the run of small, cheap saloons.” The only “startlingly new aspect” of the Anglia was the reverse-raked rear window, which meant no rear parcel shelf, but did allow for the boot to open wide. The Ford Anglia made the Muggle news when, in 2005, the press reported that the car had been stolen from a film studio and found in a ruined castle in Cornwall. In fact, the car reported stolen was just one of many prop cars used in the making of the film.

Despite holding some reservations about the Anglia’s gear ratios, the magazine praised the transmission as “one of the best yet developed in a car in this class and shifts smoothly, engages precisely and is fast either up or down”. Over in America, Motor Life magazine went so far as to say the new high-revving engine “can almost be called radical”, with its “extremely oversquare” dimensions and hollow, three-bearing crankshaft. After the Harry Potter movies finished filming, a range of fates awaited the cars featured. Singer Liam Payne paid a six-figure price for one of the movie cars, now on display in his garden. Another car is on display at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Actors Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint drove a different, operational version of the Ford Anglia to the 2010 opening of the same theme park.In the Muggle world Ford’s new Anglia model was overshadowed by the Mini when it was launched at the 1959 Motor Show but went on to be a sales success with over a million of the 105E and more powerful 123E being built before production ended in 1967. In 1963 the production line was moved from Dagenham to a new factory at Halewood on Merseyside. A spokesperson for the police said: "For those who have not seen the Harry Potter films, this is the car that flies in the movie and is very well known. The new engine, while still antiquated in concept, pumped out an improved 36bhp and propelled the Anglia to 70mph, passing 60mph in 29.4 seconds And while Ron’s car didn’t exactly rescue the Anglia from obscurity, it did bring it to a whole new audience. The sprint, if such a term is even appropriate, to 70mph was cut dramatically from 51.5 seconds to 33.4 seconds, with Autocar reporting in December 1962 that “for motorway cruising 75mph is maintained happily with very little engine noise”, returning 28mpg at such speeds, touching 40mpg at slower cruising speeds.

The light blue car (license number 7990 TD) that appears in the second film was an authentic 1962 Ford Anglia 105E, built in Ford’s factory in the United Kingdom. Special effects supervisor John Richardson took out the engine and gutted the vehicle to make it lighter, and then fitted it onto a rotating crane with a special joint called a gimbal head. In total there will be 7 new sets in the first half of the year, all of which will be released on March 1st. Flying Ford Anglia (76424) Facelifted in 1957, with a refreshed face, larger rear window, larger tail lights, and chrome bumpers, the car sold well throughout its life. In 2005, three years after Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) was released, the vehicle used in the original footages was stolen from South West Film Studios in Cornwall, presumably by a fanatic fan. In 2006, the car was found near a castle in England. [8] [9] The Anglia may be long gone, but more than 2,000 examples of all shapes survive on the roads today and, thanks in part to Harry Potter, it will never be forgotten.

Shaping a classic

Among the 896 pieces that make up the set are also the Minifigures Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid and Draco as well as another sidebuild next to the hut. The set will be released for 74.99. The VW in question was presumably a Beetle, and Ford’s publicity man went on to list how the Anglia won hands down when it came to economy, speed, legroom and weight distribution. Some unbelievable things have happened in Cornwall over the years - and one of them is that one of the "flying" Ford Anglia cars used in the Harry Potter films was stolen from a local studio before reappearing, months later, on Carn Brea. The Harry Potter crew had to use 16 different Ford Anglias for this scene alone. It is reported that 14 of them were destroyed. The Anglia was a compact car manufactured by Ford UK from 1939-1967. The Anglia 105E was the fourth-generation of the badge, launched in 1959. All three body styles (saloon, rear hatch estate car, and windowless panel van) had just two passenger doors and a 90.5-inch wheelbase. The average Anglia weighed 1,624 lbs; power came from a 997 cc OHV inline-4 engine. Ford UK mated this engine to a four-speed transmission; new to the fourth-generation were synchros for the top three gears.