Unless you don't watch telly, you'll have seen the trailers for 'Ashes to Ashes', if not the programme itself, as the BBC spend our money on re-hashing another series because we liked it a bit ('Life On Mars'), rather than daring to try something fresh and new. My mum tells me that when I was young, I'd tell a joke and if people liked it, I'd tell it again - until my mum tactfully explained to me why people didn't laugh the second time around. Sadly, my mum has no influence at the BBC.
Anyway, the brilliant Phillip Glenister understandably had no hesitation about starring in another series of the same format, and returns as the tough-guy Gene Hunt, a decade on in the 80s.
His Ford Cortina has been upgraded to a red Audi Quattro to compliment the new era.
But, Quattro enthusiasts have been finger-wagging with wrinkled brows of disapproval since the trailers began airing...
The car used in the show has a V-registration plate, which relates to 1980-81. However, the Audi Quattro only became available in Europe as a left-hand drive model in 1981, so the first UK Quattro models would have started on a W plate. Even then, the car featured is apparently a later model with the wrong grille, spoiler and headlamps.
I think there is probably a need for a bit more "willing suspension of disbelief" among Quattro fans if they are to enjoy this series. I'm guilty of giggling at the '1970s UPVC windows' in 'Life On Mars', but then I was able to rationalise that it was a portrayal of fiction and nobody was trying to make me believe it was reality.
It is reported that only 800 Audi Quattro models still exist in the UK, so they're unlikely to be on any car leasing shortlists, but the superb advances made by Audi in the production of this 80s classic continue to feature and be improved upon in the huge range of Audi leasing choices available today. Any one of their current models could easily become the 'Gene Hunt mobile' of the future, and worthy of it too.
