The red Gran Torino with its famous white streak tears into the BBC Cambridgeshire car park, the twangy theme music blaring from its speakers - and squeals to a halt. Its windows are smokey and we can't see the driver, but we're pretty certain Starsky and Hutch are about to leap into action... | "It's a head turner, it really is..." | | Eddie Thompkins |
Er, not quite... Eddie Thompkins and John Manders have brought their Starsky and Hutch car to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire to talk with presenter Ray Clark. This is one of only 1,000 Gran Torinos built by Ford in the 1970s, and although this particular car has had its moments, it never quite made it into the detective series we all know and love.
 | | The Gran Torino comes to Cambridge! |
The car, owned by Eddie Thompkins, has just been sold to John Manders, and both came along to show off the nostalgic vehicle. It was purchased on ebay by Eddie just a year ago, and the car has a glittering pedigree, having starred with Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore in Charlie's Angels II. At the same time, Eddie purchased a photograph of David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser posing with this particular Gran Torino - now that's worth having!
 | | John and Eddie with the Gran Torino |
Eddie explains how he brought the Gran Torino to the UK: "These cars are more popular in the UK than the US, so I took advantage of the exchange rate and got it for about £3,000. I imported it, but it needed a lot of restoring when it arrived." Eddie works with the American forces here in the UK, and met John Manders a year ago. It's a great partnership as both guys are car enthusiasts, and John's own company hires out unusual cars for weddings and other events. There has already been plenty of interest in the car for promotional videos, weddings and school proms.
 | | Ray Clark with John and Eddie |
The Gran Torino is pretty heavy on fuel consumption - when it was new it could clock up 12 miles to the gallon and the whole thing is powered by a 351 Windsor which is roughly equivalent to a 5.7 litre engine - pretty meaty! "It's a head turner, it really is," says Eddie, proudly. Listen to the car in action by clicking the audio link at the top right of this page. | 
