Top Gear reveals nation’s ultimate TV Cop Cars
The burgundy Jaguar Mark 2 driven by Inspector Morse in the TV show Morse has been voted the most iconic TV cop-car of all time, in a new poll commissioned by Top Gear.
The classic British-made model was declared top of the cops by over half (53%) of those surveyed, closely followed by Gene Hunt’s Audi Quattro from Ashes to Ashes (43%), and the Ferrari 308 GTS that starred in Magnum, PI.
The nation’s 10 best loved TV cop and detective cars were:
- Jaguar Mark 2 – Inspector Morse, Morse (53%)
- Audi Quattro – Gene Hunt, Ashes to Ashes (43%)
- Ferrari 308 GTS – Thomas Magnum, Magnum PI (41%)
- Ford Capri – Ray Doyle, The Professionals (41%)
- Ford Gran Torino – Dave Starsky, Starsky and Hutch (40%)
- Ferrari Testarossa – Sonny Crockett, Miami Vice (37%)
- Land Rover Defender – Vera Stanhope, Vera (33%)
- Ford Consul GT – Inspector Jack Regan, The Sweeney (28%)
- Ford Cortina – Gene Hunt, Life on Mars (27%)
- Mercedes SL and Ford Escort XR3i cabriolet – Harriet and Jim, Dempsey and Makepeace (27%)
The Ford Sierra Cosworth driven by Freddie Spender (24%), Jim Bergerac’s Triumph Roadster 2000 (24%) and the Ford Zephyr from Z Cars (21%) just missed out on a placing in the poll coming in at 11, 12 and 13th positions respectively.
70% of respondents stated that the design and iconic look of a car are the most desirable features.
The Mark 2 epitomised Jaguar’s motto of grace, pace and space, with almost a third of respondents identifying Morse’s chosen crime-fighting vehicle as the ultimate TV cop car in terms of classic style and design.
Seven in ten of those polled declared the 1960s as the greatest era of iconic car designs. Though the Mark 2 actually launched in 1959, it was sold throughout the Sixties, with over 80,000 built in Coventry.