Hunting down a classic

Gene Hunt is the star in BBC 1 drama Ashes to Ashes in which he plays the role of a copper in London fighting crime in the 80’s.

The real star to emerge from the program is in fact the car- a pillar box red Audi Quattro with a turbocharged 200bhp engine! The car has been a real experience for actor Philip Glenister to drive and although seemingly harder to drive than its predecessor he is said to have fit a hydraulic handbrake so he “could rag it round those corners!”

The car has proved so popular since its introduction in 2008 that parts for the car have been increasingly hard to locate and with the production ceased on the cars years ago and only 11,452 made in its production period the cars are extremely thin on the ground. Many are cashing in on this by putting up the prices on the parts available with even show enthusiasts buying the spare parts as memorabilia! This has proved increasingly difficult for the show as the car required a stunt double during the filming and when they went to purchase the car they found the price of the car had doubled since the start of the show.

This reiterates my previous article on Product Placement where I mentioned about how using a product through a popular medium (such as popular culture) really can rockets its popularity. In this case with Ashes to Ashes you could say it became a doubled edged sword- Ultimately increasing sales yet becoming a hindrance to the show when trying to locate extra parts. Can you win?

The last car used on the show was a Cortina that was then was auctioned off for Comic Relief at the end of the series which funnily enough Philip who plays Gene Hunt in the show purchased back from EBay!!

The influence of such a popular show is apparent not just in the sales of the Quattro but also In this year’s election in which the Labour Party used an image of Gene Hunt on the Quattro with David Cameron's face as part of its campaign with the words “Don’t let him take Britain back to the 1980s.” The Conservatives hit back using the image but with the words "Fire up the Quattro. It's time for Change. Vote for Change. Vote Conservative.” Funny how powerful a catchphrase can be...