Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: How Yorkshire man's Fiat 500 came to play role in new Indiana Jones film

His new 500 D, which he has just taken delivery of, has a key role in the $300m film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

In fact, Mr Ward had to wait for filming to finish in Sicily before the car could be delivered to his home in Huddersfield.

The car is a Fiat 500 ‘Transformabile - Soft-Top’ manufactured in Turin. It is the D model with rear-hinged “suicide” doors.

He will not say how much but he paid “market value”. It is believed it spent most of its life in Pavia , a city south of Milan, before being exported to Spain, where it was used as a runaround for the owners and kept at their villa.It was then brought to the UK in 2019, and sold to Pinewood Studios. It had a full strip down, all the windows taken out, a full repaint in aquamarine, a colour the production company felt would look at its best on screen.

Mr Ward said: “A complete new interior was fitted, a new speedometer, and a major overall of the mechanical parts with no expense spared.”

Lucas Films, part of the Walt Disney Company, then exported the car to Sicily, where it spent a few months filming on location mainly on the narrow streets of Cefalu.

Mr Ward, a journalist and motor trade consultant, said: “I haven’t seen the film, but according to spy photos and social media, it appears the 500 is a wedding car, all decorated with flowers and ribbons.

“Harrison Ford, who plays Indiana Jones, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Indiana’s god-daughter, steal the car from the wedding scene and a chase ensues.

“I’m not sure how it ends, or what happens to the car, but according to the film critics who saw the world premiere of the film on May 18 in Cannes, a lot of computer generated imagery (CGI) was used.

“After filming was completed in Sicily, the car went back to Pinewood, for I presume more shots, again using ‘green’ screens and CGI. It wasn’t until the film was completely finished and ‘signed off’ and the car was no longer needed, they kept it just in case.

“I have wanted a 500D for a while, and I heard about it from a friend, and heard it was for sale, complete with the number plates it wore in the film, the V5 ‘log book’ in the name of Pinewood Studios, and a load of invoices for work carried out.”

He says he will hire it out for weddings via www.fiat500hire.com, with three already booked. He said it is very different to a modern motor. He said: “It certainly doesn’t drive like a modern car, the gears crunch, it’s slow, and very small, but were hugely popular throughout Europe in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Fiat 500s are now very popular for all sorts of things such as advertising, promotions, TV, film and weddings.”

He said he cannot wait to see the film when it launches on June 30.