1976 Ford Torino Gran Torino Hardtop Coupe

Aaron Spelling's highly popular 'Starsky and Hutch' TV series was on ABC from April 1975 through May 1979. Paul-Michael Glaser and David Soul portrayed the show's streetwise title characters, who helped keep Bay City clean with the help of informant Huggy Bear played by Antonio Fargas. Perhaps the biggest star of the show was Starsky's ride, a mid-1970s Ford Gran Torino two-door hardtop with a distinctive white stripe running across the roof and down each flank, and riding on slotted mag wheels.

The Gran Torino was a 1970s pop-culture icon with legions of fans to this day. While the mid-size Torino model line-up was slated to be phased out by Ford Motor Company soon after the show's debut, the popularity of the on-screen Starsky and Hutch cars spurred the release of Ford's own 'Starsky and Hutch' Limited Edition Gran Torino for 1976 in a special run of 1,000 units available. They were all built at Ford Motor Company's Chicago Assembly Plant in early spring 1976, and bear the DSO (District Sales Office) numbers 0022. Currently it is believed that fewer than 100 of the original 1,000 cars remain in existence today.

This Ford-built 1976 Starsky and Hutch Limited Edition Gran Torino is one of the 1,000 examples built. It is finished in Red and White stripes and has a black interior. It has a 409 cubic-inch crate engine with Edelbrock fuel injection, Aluminum radiator, and an automatic transmission. The battery has been relocated to the trunk. The brakes have been upgraded to 4-wheel cross-drilled discs. The suspension has also been upgraded. The original wheels remain at all four corners. There are aftermarket gauges and many other unique touches.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2018