Gene Hunt would doubtless mutter resignedly about “southern nancies” but the Porsche 911 has beaten his beloved Audi Quattro in a new survey of dream eighties cars.

With the hit BBC TV series, Ashes to Ashes drawing to a close this week, the Porsche 911 took almost a third of all votes 29%, just pipping the Audi Quattro with 28%, to be crowned the decades most desirable car, in a poll conducted by vehicle check specialists HPI.
 
Both cars left their 80s rivals trailing in the dust, with only the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and BMW M5 to make any impression in the survey with 15% and 12% respectively.

The survey also asked respondents about which iconic cars from that period they most fondly remembered, and it was another TV car that swept all before it. The Ford Capri SLE 71R, immortalised by Terry McCann in Minder, polled 30% of the votes, receiving more than twice as many votes as the Jaguar XJ6 driven by his TV boss Arthur Daly which polled 11%.

Sonny Crockett’s Ferrari Testarossa also proved memorable with the Miami Vice car getting 26% of the votes. The DeLorean DMC12 from Back to the Future was next with 23% and the Ferrari 308, as driven by Magnum, scooped up 21% of the vote. But it wasn’t all high performance vehicles that were fondly regarded, the Reliant Regal – the three-wheeler of choice of Del Trotter in Only Fools & Horses came fifth with 19%.

The HPI survey also revealed that despite the 80s stereotype of dodgy car dealers as celebrated in shows such as Minder, two thirds of used car buyers were actually more trusting then than they are now – a result that surprised Nick Lindsay, Director of HPI.

“The revelation that used car buyers felt more confident buying a car in the 80s is, I believe, down to the greater levels of awareness now about car crime, such as clocking and cloning.  At HPI we have long led the way in helping car buyers arm themselves against the unscrupulous, providing the most comprehensive history check on an unprecedented number of vehicles over many decades.

“The success of Ashes to Ashes and the proposed remake of Minder have piqued people’s interest in 80s cars again and, though you need to approach older cars with care, they need not necessarily be old bangers. In fact, as this survey has shown, many of these vehicles are highly desirable classics. With our unrivalled database able to reveal if your dream car is all it’s cracked up to be, HPI is the ideal place to turn if you are thinking of reliving those glory days.”

www.hpicheck.com is available from just £19.99. With more vehicle information than anybody else, HPI can give you an instant answer on whether the car you want to buy has been stolen, written-off, clocked, or has outstanding finance.