Carbug Goes Up For Auction

Bid on the Back to Earth star vehicle.

2 October, 2009

Carbug, the vehicle from Back to Earth which caused such a tabloid fuss when it was snapped on Coronation Street, is being auctioned.

The customised Smart Car is being made available through H&H - more about them here - as part a collectors' vehicle auction taking place on October 29th, 2009 at the Haynes International Motor Museum in Somerset.

H&H was founded in 1993 and is Europe's largest specialist auctioneer of collectors' cars. Over the last sixteen years they have offered everything from 1890s London-to-Brighton runners through to 1990s Formula 1 cars, as well as celebrity-owned vehicles from the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Elvis Presley. Thankyouverymuch.

Viewing for the auction that includes Carbug will be on Wednesday October 28th from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. So by all means get your backsides down to the Haynes International Motor Museum to get a look at the bright green Bug.

Entry to the vehicle display on sale day, Thursday October 29th, will be by catalogue only. Catalogues cost £20 on the door (or £23 by post) and admit two people to the auction.

As you might recall from The Making of Back to Earth the original car - a 1999 Smart Passion, fact fans - was vinyl wrapped and augmented with decals and cunningly disguised flowerpots, plus working lights within the booster rockets. The result was an extraordinary visual for the three-part special, a genuinely iconic moment for the series... and only a slight pain in the arse for the crew when the keys got locked inside the damn thing.

To take a closer a look, check out Dave's tongue-in-cheek video.

Running and driving, but not road legal unless you wished to remove the 'hover pads' etc, you can check the Classic Auctions site for more details on the value and how to bid. It's a car, though, and a piece of TV memorabilia from the highest-rated British show on multi-channel TV, so, y'know, bring your biggest wallet.

Visit the Haynes Motor Museum website.