I have already told you so much about the "series" cars (and not the series of cars) that had marked me that the links concerning them are at the bottom of the page. But today, I want to talk about the missing link, the one that probably equal to the Magnum Ferrari has made us want to drive, and have a vehicle out of the ordinary. After The Dukes of Hazzard, K2000, Magnum, The Love of Risk, here is finally the long awaited: the Ford Gran Torino of Starsky and Hutch.
This series is a miracle: a white band on a red body, two antithetical cops (the blond / the brown, the big / the small, the philosopher / the blood, the leather / the sweater in wool etc) and hop, one gets a cult series. With guest star Michael Glaser (brown), and David Soul (blond), and the Ford Gran Torino (red and white). Add to that Huggy the good tips of the big days, lots of chases and action, a touch of humor and you get one of the greatest hits of Aaron Spelling, who later gave us another kind series, Beverly Hills (among others).
The Gran Torino has probably become legendary thanks to Starsky and Hutch. The highlight will be pressed years later by Clint Eastwood and his excellent film soberly titled Gran Torino. However, at the release of the version that concerns us, in 1974, the Gran Torino is only a distant memory of the Muscle Cars. I let you go take a look at Wikipedia to realize that we are far from the sports car with this box there. But whatever!
With the Gran Torino we enter the world of cinema and TV series. No need for a fantastic engine to make it a fantastic car. At the time, the Ford Motor Company had a brilliant idea: create a specific department, which would be called today "product placement", to flood the world of free movies and teloche. Free advertising that is perfectly suited to rapacious (or supposedly) Californian producers. At this time no special effects needed to make a car cult. No need for accelerated images as in K2000, just a little paint.
The brilliant idea comes from Georges Barris, the creator of the Batmobile. Rather than creating an extraordinary car that would not fit with the series, it will realize a specific paint immediately recognizable even today. Not many know that this is a Ford Gran Torino, but seeing it, all know that it is the car of Starsky and Hutch: it is the miracle of the white band on a red background.
But this magic would not work if the series stayed on the traditional codes of then. Playing on this quirky image, on this zebra car, Aaron Spelling takes us with Starsky and Hutch in a new dimension: a Los Angeles a sleazy hair like we had never seen, a lot of action, panting chases and especially, above all, a lot of humor a little quirky. The Glaser / Soul duo works perfectly, and the red and white Gran Torino joins them to form a trio stripper.
Of course, the versions of this Gran Torino seen in the serials are skillfully prepared, far from the original V8 too windy for action scenes. In all and for all, ten copies will be used for the two seasons of the series, two for close-ups, the others for action. At least two will be destroyed during filming, and two will be resold after the last season to an individual who is now pampering them.
There is also a special series, launched by Ford to ride the success of the series: 1000 copies to satisfy the fans of the time. Today, there are plethora of replicas all more or less faithful. I do not think I would like to have one today, but one thing is certain: at the time it was my favorite car... Like what you can turn an ugly duckling into a star.
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