July 2016 - Kitcars, Movies & Magic, Hatfield House, Hertfordshire.
The cars were the stars at the inaugural Independence Day Sports Car event held within the grounds of Hatfield House courtesy of the 7th Marquess of Salisbury and "Wow"! What a line-up of movie muscle, you could almost feel their magic aura and smell the testosterone dripping off the curves of these iconic works of art.
This was a fantastic event and what an absolute honour amongst such famous movie company, for the innovation and engineering design of my Seven styled Hardtop Coupé development to receive the judges vote, followed by the presentation of an inaugural Concours winners trophy and an invitational photoshoot courtesy of the 7th Marquess of Salisbury.
In the line-up there was some genuine movie magic that instantly brought back memories. Who could ever forget the blue and orange Gulf Oil colours and aesthetic appeal of the Porsche 917 driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 movie 'Le Mans'. This car is just jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
Close-by stood the 1968 Highland Green Mustang GT 390 Fastback with mounted lightweight Arriflex camera.
Alongside the Mustang stood it's counter-part from the chase scene, the Dodge Charger 440 Magnum.
Again driven by Steve McQueen and used for the interior driving shots of possibly the most famous car chase scene ever filmed in the 1968 movie 'Bullitt'.
Continuing with the American TV series theme, the red Gran Torino with it's 351 Windsor V8 sound track and white vector stripes had a definite place on UK TV every Saturday night as 'Starsky and Hutch' (call sign Zebra 3) burst on to our screens. Possibly not the most inconspicuous car for a duo of crime fighting undercover Bay City detectives but hey, this is TV so we can let that one go!
Following on with the Dodge Charger theme, I spot Bo and Luke Duke's 1969 (01) General Lee. This car was used in the original jump scene of the 'Dukes of Hazzard' opening titles sequence.
As I approach a black 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am, I notice that I am being scanned for concealed weapons or other devices. This is
'Kitt', one half of the crime fighting duo known as 'Knight Rider'
whose special chassis and body mods featured 'Turbo Boost' - 'Self Drive' - 'Body Armour' - 'Voice Synthesizer' and most memorable of all the red front mounted 'Scanner Bar'.
Moving back across the pond for a UK based TV series, I came across a white Volvo P1800, registration number 'ST 1' driven by Roger Moore alias Simon Templar in 'The Saint'.
Another car driven by Roger Moore, and pulling the crowds is a yellow Citroen 2CV from 007's 'For Your Eyes Only'. This car was driven by Roger Moore's 'James Bond' (actually stunt performer Rémy Julienne) to escape from Hector Gonzales' henchmen.
In the line-up of exhibits there were some absolutely amazing and iconic cars. Wherever I looked there was something equally appealing and one thing is for sure...they all invoke memories of where you were, who you were with and the feelings we had when we first sat and watched these celluloid magic movie moments!
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