Whatever happened to Sold in 60 Seconds?
I know I didn't imagine it, but does anyone else remember a TV programme of the noughties called Sold in 60 Seconds? No, not the South African show of the same name, but the one that was broadcast on Men & Motors.
At least, I think it was on Men & Motors. Aside from a couple of forum threads on PistonHeads, there appears to be no trace of the show, which is odd when you can find almost anything on YouTube. Somebody, somewhere must have evidence that the show existed.
I mean, it wasn't very good, but it's worth remembering that this was a time before you could watch motoring content 24/7 via the wonders of YouTube. The ‘Motors’ side of the channel was pretty decent in a ‘just back from the pub but not quite ready to go to bed’ kinda way.
The likes of Ginny Buckley and Richard Hammond cut their motoring presenter teeth on the channel (no jokes about the Hamster's pearly whites, please), and, for reasons I'll never understand, Dave Lee Travis did some car stuff.
It's all pretty pedestrian by today's standards, which brings me back to Sold in 60 Seconds, which was presented by ‘used-car and auction expert’ Charlie Tope. Not our words, Carol, but the words of Suzie Bostel of Denham Productions.
In a bid to find contributors, Suzie posted on PistonHeads, saying:
‘Are you looking to buy a used car? Are you in need of some pointers or some help? Sold in 60 Seconds, the popular TV series that helps people buy their desired car for the best price, is back and we are looking for people to take part in the third series. Our used-car and auction expert Charlie Tope is on the case to get you the best car that your money can buy, whatever your budget, and whatever type of car you are looking for, whether it's a family saloon, exotic, salvage or classic.’
The premise of the show was simple. A member of the public gave Mr Tope a list of requirements and he'd show them three suitable cars at auction.
I'm trawling the very depths of my memory here, but I'm pretty sure Mr Tope always wore a beige raincoat, not too dissimilar to the one worn by Lieutenant Columbo. And I could be doing the guy a massive disservice here, but his presenting style was more Captain Lethargic than Captain Slow.
He knew his onions – the guy restored a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost once used by Sir Winston Churchill – but I always got the impression he was out of his comfort zone and would have preferred to be restoring an old car than trying to convince a punter to buy a tired Toyota or a ropey Rover.
In fairness to the guy, he could only work the cars that were going under the hammer on any given day, so his choices didn't always hit the mark. Not quite at the levels of offering someone a TVR Tuscan when they wanted a family hatchback with a big boot for £1000, but some of the options were a bit wild.
Posting on PistonHeads, TerriSpud, probably not his/her real name, said: ‘I was a contestant/victim on Sold in 60 Seconds and the car he got me was an utter bag of poop! I had to spend over £700 on the thing and then ended up scrapping it!! My main thing was I stipulated “I do NOT want a green car – deffo no green” – what did he get me?? Yep a green Escort - although he described it as Cayman blue!!!! It was however almost definitely green!!!”
Does anyone else remember Sold in 60 Seconds? Will anyone admit to watching the show? Better still, does anyone have any footage they can share with Petrolblog? Get in touch.
Photos courtesy of Ford and Manheim.
