TV show expected to boost interest in 80s classics

9:23pm Thursday 7th February 2008

INTEREST in classic cars of the 1980s is expected to hot up following the return of DCI Gene Hunt to our TV screens.

BBC1 aired the first of the Life on Mars spin-off Ashes to Ashes on Thursday night.

This time the action takes place in the 1980s, with Hunt swapping his Ford Cortina for an Audi Quattro.

And British Car Auctions is predicting a rise in nostalgia for 80s cars as a result.

Robin Lawton, Head of BCA's 'Classics' department commented "We've seen a rising interest in cars from the 1980s in recent sales and we expect the start of the new BBC TV series to fuel this even further. People are beginning to feel a sense of nostalgia for 80s fashions and this includes cars like the Golf GTI, Rover SD1, Ford Cortina, BMW and Mercedes models of that era, several of which feature in our next Classics sale."

The first BCA Classics sale of 2008 is on February 26 at Blackbushe and a selection of 80s classics are on offer, including a Mercedes Benz 500 SEC once owned by Bob Monkhouse, a Lotus Esprit S3 and a Porsche 911 Turbo.

But so far no one has put a 1980s Audi Quattro up for sale, although Robin Lawton, Head of BCA's Classics Division isn't surprised.

"The early Audi Quattros that do come up for sale create a great deal of interest with enthusiasts, but with only 11,452 built over the 11-year production period they are pretty thin on the ground now," he said.

"Classics from the 80s have probably been undervalued in recent years. We may well see a surge in interest in the weeks and months ahead."

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