The greatest car and music collabs | Axon's Automotive Anorak

Asking an automotive anorak about this is akin to questioning whether grizzlies do their business amongst the leaves and trees or if the Pope goes to church on a Sunday. Of course, I do, and then some. For starters, the special order-only, supercharged Volkswagen Polo G40 Coupe of 1992/93, was produced to commemorate VW’s sponsorship of the 1993 Genesis We Can’t Dance live tour. 

Volkswagen’s involvement in music hasn’t been limited to this trio of special edition hatchbacks though, as at the end of 2012 it introduced a limited edition New Beetle Fender, created in conjunction with the legendary rock guitar maker; Fender. Available only in Pearl Black with a diesel engine, the Beetle Fender also features a special rear spoiler, chimed 18-inch alloys, a powerful 400-Watt Fender audio system, plus Fender badges on the front wings. A unique black ‘vibrant sunburst’ wood dash panel, intended to replicate the finish of a Fender guitar, also made this Special stand out.

Far less rock ’n’ roll and more mind-numbingly pop, the late 20th century Liverpool girls band – Atomic Kitten – almost made a living out of associating themselves with various car brands and limited edition models. In addition to being one of the more bizarre sponsors of a Works BTCC team – with their Team Atomic Kitten MG ZS Touring Car for the 2002 season, driven by Colin Turkington and Gareth Howell – the girl band’s tie-up with MG Rover also saw the failed Longbridge car maker offer its MG ZR and ZS models in special edition Atomic Kitten form, as well as using the girls to promote its latest family of MG and Rover models – a move that sadly failed to improve this one-great British car maker’s fortunes.

Once MG Rover was off the scene, Atomic Kitten changed its loyalty to the VAG Group’s Spanish division of SEAT, the girls being used to promote the SEAT Alhambra people carrier! Like disloyal customers, Atomic Kitten then moved on again, this time to promote the entry-level Toyota Land Cruiser!

Not shy about using famous names and faces to promote its vehicles, in 1999 the Rover Group, in association with the London Design Museum, turned to the music industry to help create a handful of very special ‘designer’ one-off ‘real’ Minis as well. One of these celebrities was David Bowie, who created a unique mirror type fully-chromed Mini Seven. This interesting Mini can now be seen for all to admire on display in the main entrance window of the Hard Rock Hotel in London. The recent David Brown Automotive, the creators of the ‘new’ old Mini Remastered Marshall (of electric guitar amplifier fame), continues the original music-related ‘real’ Mini theme.

The Mini brand’s new custodian – BMW – took a leaf out of Rover’s old marketing book to use another well-known British music artist to create a special New MINI in 2009. The Jam founder and Mini fan – Paul Weller – designed a distinctive one-off pink with brown strips MINI Cooper for a charity auction; the car’s eye-catching but gaudy two-tone coachwork said to have been inspired by a shirt Weller had previously designed for Ben Sherman.

Possibly the ultimate music-related motor car though has to be Chrysler’s range-topping Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition of 1981 and 1982. Coloured blue inside and out like Old Blue Eyes himself, the Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition 9often abbreviated to Imperial FS) was an exclusive and expensive personal coupe with an English-style bustle-back rear end(like a post-war Hooper Rolls-Royce limousine), claimed by Chrysler to feature almost every conceivable extra as standard. 

Long-term Chrysler customer and friend of the Pentastar’s boss – Lee Iacocca – Sinatra drove the very first Imperial example off the production line and kept the V8 coupe for himself. The model’s Kimberley velvet interior or leather option was designed by Mark Cross, with the Sinatra Edition including an exclusive leather cassette carry case, also designed by Cross, and filled with the crooner’s favourite chosen music; not all of it his own.

Naturally, the Imperial V8 came equipped as standard with a stereo cassette player, hidden away out of sight behind a lockable walnut veneer panel in the centre console with a small badge including Frank Sinatra’s signature. Sinatra even recorded a special ‘It’s Time For You’ song for the Imperial’s TV ad and made a cameo appearance in the ad too. Despite this, just a few hundred examples (278 to be exact) of this now collectable Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition were made over the model’s short two-year production run, which was not music to Chrysler’s ears, falling way below its expectations, even if Hollywood A-listers of the day such as Bob Hope, Burt Reynolds and Fred Astaire each bought one.