Zebra Three

Infobox Automobile
name = Zebra Three


manufacturer = Ford Motor Company
production = 1974 - 1976
assembly = Dearborn, Michigan
Chicago, Illinois
Atlanta, Georgia
Lorain, Ohio
class = Muscle car
body_style = 2-door coupe
layout = FR layout
engine = 302 Windsor
351 Windsor
351 Cleveland
351 Modified
400 Modified
429 Super Cobra Jet
460 Lima
transmission = 3-speed automatic
length = 213.6" (2-door)

Zebra Three was the code name from the Los Angeles Police Department given to Starsky's famous red and white souped up Ford Torino from the television series Starsky and Hutch, which it's license plate reads 537 ONN, and driven by Detective Dave Starsky, and his partner Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson. The car was also featured in the Starsky & Hutch film.

Original Perfect Car

.Originally, the show's creator, William Blinn, was to have Starsky drive a green and white souped up 1971 Chevrolet Camaro because he remembered one that he had owned previously.

When the production was being planned, the studio was unable to locate another green and white 1971 Chevrolet Camaro or order a 1975 Camaro from General Motors, because of their lease contract with the Ford Motor Company.

Perfect Car

When production started on the pilot, Ford Motor Company's studio-TV car loan program was the lease supplier for Spelling-Goldberg that year. Producers looked at lease stock and chose two (one main, one backup) 351 Windsor V8-powered "Bright Red" (code 2B) 2-door Gran Torinos for the characters.

The cars were equipped with chrome exterior rearview mirrors and protective black rubber bodyside moldings; the interiors were black with vinyl bench seats, and oversize blackwall Goodyear HR78x17 seventy series cop tires. They were custom painted (on top of the factory red paint color) with the distinctive white "vector" stripe (running from the front fender, across the doors, up and over the roof, and then symmetrically back down the other side above the molding, ending in a point at the middle of the front marker lights on either side), had their rear ends lifted by air shocks, had "U.S." brand 5-slotted aluminum magnum 500 wheels added with larger rear tires, and had fat chrome tips on to the dual exhaust pipes.

They also replaced the original 2.75 to 1 rear axle gearing (standard, along with automatic transmission, on 1975 and newer Torinos) with numerically higher gears for better acceleration during stunt driving scenes; this was done during all four seasons to the S-G Torinos. Engine sounds were dubbed in since the Torinos were stock; California law forbade mechanically modifying the engines of new cars.

When the pilot was successful, Spelling-Goldberg ordered two new red Torinos for the first season. These cars were powered by 400 Modified V8s because extra power was going to be needed for additional stunt driving scenes. Ford produced 1,000 limited editions of red and white Starsky and Hutch Torinos in March 1976.

External links

* [http://www.starskytorino.com/ Starsky Torino]

While Spelling-Goldberg were happy with the Torinos, the stars, specifically, Paul Michael Glaser, whose character, Dave Starsky, were not so pleased. In fact, when Aaron Spelling showed Paul his character's car, which Mr. Spelling dubbed as a surprise for Paul, Paul's reaction was one more of disgust rather than pleasure. His initial reply was "It's Red."

When interviewed about the Torino, which became as vital a character to the show as Starsky and Hutch, Paul had no qualms about saying he didn't like the car at all. He went onto say that it was huge, it had no pickup, it couldn't handle, and in all of the scenes where Starsky & Hutch lock the brakes to stop the car at a crime scene and Starsky bumps the car off the curb, Paul was doing that on purpose to physically break the Torino.