Iconic Police Cars From TV + Movies
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Some of the most iconic celebrity police cars of the big and small screen
Andrew Hird (pictured with his crew above) is a sales executive by day and a Blues Brother by night and, to really get into character, he recently purchased an ex-police Dodge Monaco that had been faithfully converted into a Bluesmobile.
"I and my mates were in a stage show of the Blues Brothers at the Valhalla and the Westgarth for 15 years. We were also invited by the Director of the Blues Brothers, John Landis, to be in the sequel film," says Hird.
"I’ve spent many years emulating the characters from the movie and it’s in my blood. So when my sister found the car advertised I just had to buy it."
Hird says that the previous owner spent three years finding the perfect car and importing it from America. He then spent another three years reconditioning the car and converting it into a Bluesmobile.
Scene from The Blues Brothers
When Hird purchased the car it was located in Brisbane, so he decided to take delivery in true Blues Brothers style.
"Three of my best friends from the Blues Brothers show and I flew into Brisbane and we drove it back down to Melbourne over four amazing days," adds Hird.
"It needed to be with the Blues Brothers group in Melbourne. We will take it to car shows, charity events, Blues Brothers and other movie performances… and of course a lot of road trips."
COP CARS IN POP CULTURE
MATLOCK POLICE
1970 Holden HG Monaro
Who remembers Matlock Police? The classic Aussie cop show ran from 1971 to 1976 on the 10 Network. Set in the fictional Victorian country town of Matlock (not the actual one), the cop show followed the life of protagonist Vic Maddern, played by Michael Pate. The real star of the show though was the 1970 HG Holden Monaro, used as the Matlock police patrol car.
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
1995 Toyota Supra
While it may not have been strictly used a cop car, the heavily modified Supra was driven by Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, who was a police officer, so it kind of was a cop car. And what an incredible car, the bright orange, decal clad Supra became an instant classic and a cult hero among tuners, modifiers and the JDM world.
KNIGHT RIDER
1982 Pontiac Firebird TransAm
Unquestionably the most recognisable Pontiac Firebird of all time, KITT was the talking Trans Am of the hit TV show Knight Rider. Voiced by William Daniels, KITT was a technologically advanced, sentient, V8 powered Firebird. KITT was the sidekick to Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff), a crime fighting field agent for the justice organisation known as FLAG. For those of you who are wondering, KITT is the acronym of Knight Industries Two Thousand.
STARSKY AND HUTCH
1976 Ford Grand Turino
Who could forget the iconic bright red Ford Gran Torino with its white ‘vector stripe’ down the side. The Torino was the personal car of detective David Michael Starsky, played by Paul Michael Glaser, and was commonly referred to on-set and in the TV show as the ‘striped tomato’. A little known fact about the show is that Glaser actually hated the bright red Torino, and said that it was big, ugly and childish looking.
MAD MAX
1973 Ford XB Falcon
No question, the ’73 XB Falcon GT351 is the most iconic Aussie car to feature in any film ever. Used as Max Rockatanky’s (Mel Gibson) pursuit car in the cult classic Mad Max, the XB left a lasting impression on audiences. It was big, black, menacing and had a maniacal V8 roar. What a car.
| Feature: Mad Max revival 2016, Clunes
BAD BOYS
1993 Porsche 964 911 Turbo 11 3.6
The 1995 action thriller directed by Michael Bay had many A-list stars; Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni, they were all present, but they all paled next to the real star of the show, the Porsche 964 Turbo. A supremely cool and rather rare car, it was the personal ride of detective Mike Lowry (Will Smith) and absolutely gave the best performance of the movie. Fun Fact, the car was actually owned by Michael Bay and was registered in France and even retained the French numberplate on the front of the car during the film.
MIAMI VICE
1986 Ferrari Testarossa
Is there a more quintessentially 80s TV show than Miami Vice? Big hair, white linen suits, Ray Ban wayfarers, bright neon lights and Don Johnson in a white Ferrari Testarossa. Johnson played Detective Sonny Crockett, a flash, crime fighting playboy in Miami, and his white Testarossa was a celebrity in its own right. You can be sure that many a poster of the white single mirrored Fezza adorned the walls of teen fan boys across America.
DIVISION 4
1970 Holden HG Kingswood
The award winning police drama set in Melbourne starred Gerard Kennedy as Detective Sergeant Frank Banner. The ’70s cop show had plenty of great Aussie metal but the 1970 HG Kingswood always stuck out as the pick of the bunch.
INSPECTOR MORSE
1960 Jaguar Mark II 2.4L
The British detective drama which ran from 1987 to 2000 was an institution, and one of the most memorable recurring characters from the TV show had to be the Regency red Jaguar Mark II driven by Inspector Morse himself. Interestingly, in the novels which the TV show was based on, inspector Morse actually drives a Lancia. The very car that was used in the TV show was sold at auction in the UK in 2005 and achieved a whopping price of £100,000.
BULLITT
1968 Ford Msutang Fastback
Ah yes, Bullitt, arguably the greatest chase scene of all time and arguably the greatest chase car of all time. The nine minutes and 42 seconds scene filmed on the streets of San Francisco not only immortalised Steve McQueen in cinema history, it also immortalised the '68 Mustang GT Fastback as one of the coolest cars of the 20th century.
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