Pimp My Ride UK

Pimp My Ride UK is a British reality TV show which ran on MTV UK for three seasons, from 2005 to 2007. The show is an adaption of the American MTV series Pimp My Ride, featuring one car in each episode being renovated and customized ("pimped") to match the owner's interests. It was hosted by English DJ Tim Westwood, and the renovation and customizing were done by Carisma Automotive.

Pimp My Ride UK
Created by	Bruce Beresford-Redman Rick Hurvitz
Presented by	Tim Westwood
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of seasons	3
Production
Production company(s)	MTV Series Development
Release
Original network	MTV UK
Original release	26 June 2005 (2005-06-26)

Episodes

Season 1 (2005)

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Ep1 1.1 Asif Nawab's Volkswagen Golf Mark II (1989)

1. • The Golf was made over with Lamborghini-style doors.

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Ep2 1.2 Bethan Jones' Morris Minor (1961)

1. • The owner of the car wanted to be pimped so it could be her wedding car. The headrests had custom embroidered "Mr." and "Mrs." (Mrs on the driver's side, naturally), as well as a matching love seat in the boot. Surfboards were resting on a new roof rack, and since Bethan was "really into" photography the garage install a laptop, printer, digital camera, plus a mobile phone to upload pictures on the go.

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Ep3 1.3 Jay Rotheram's Ford Granada Hearse (1983)

1. • The funeral car was pimped for Jay and his band to perform gigs in.

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Ep4 1.4 Armick Abolian's Fiat Panda (1987)

1. • The Panda was pimped with a trailer containing skate equipment.
   • It also had three bucket seats installed.

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Ep5 1.5 Sean Egan's Ford Capri (1986)

1. • The interior was decorated with over one thousand Swarovski crystals. There is a rumour that Sean does not own the car anymore.[1]

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Ep6 1.6 Bez's Black Cab (1988)

1. • Starring also Davina McCall from Big Brother.
   • Ironically, the car was originally a sleeper before being rebuilt, with Bez having spent his Big Brother prize money on a Chevrolet V8 and race exhaust.
   • The sound and video system included a DJ turntable, twenty speakers, eight amps, two DVD players, fifteen TV screens and a camera on the grill linked to one of the screens.
   • The sign on top of the car saying "TAXI" was changed to say "PIMP".

Season 2 (2006)

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Ep7 2.1 Chris' Nissan Sunny (1988)

1. • Chris won his car in a Poker game. Due to the rough condition of the bodywork, a mint-condition donor car was used for its parts.

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Ep8 2.2 Adam's BMW 316i E30 (1989)

1. • Adam obviously did not have trouble sleeping before filming. Instead of answering the door, Westwood had to wake him up!
   • The car had an additional taekwondo training boot on his car trunk.

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Ep9 2.3 Zoë's Volkswagen Split Screen Camper Van (1967)

1. • Zoë was actually conceived in her own campervan dubbed "The Beastie",
   • The car had been in her family for nearly 40 years.

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Ep10 2.4 Lana's Volkswagen Polo (1991)

1. • Lana had been a flight attendant and was trying to earn a Private Pilot License at the time of the filming. The car was fitted with actual Boeing 747 seats.
   • Lana likes party, the car added a beauty kit on side trolley inside her car.

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Ep11 2.5 Jamie's Suzuki Swift GTi (1991)

1. • Jamie was given a hand cast of his favourite actor, and of course Westwood. The car was covered in vinyl stickers in his favourite Japanese style.

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Ep12 2.6 Sheerin's Volkswagen Beetle (1969)

1. • Sheerin's Beetle was given a custom cowskin paint job on the roof, and had a mosaic floor to reflect her Middle-Eastern heritage.

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Ep13 2.7 Lawrence's Ford Anglia (1959)

1. • As Lawrence was a fan of 1950s culture, the car was pimped in the style of a 1950s hotrod. An American style diner was installed in the boot. It was advertised for sale in the March 2007 issue of Custom Car Magazine and the May 2007 issue of Retro Ford.

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Ep14 2.8 Hannah's Kia Pride (1991)

1. • On the way to the garage, Westwood blew up the engine.

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Ep15 2.9 Danny's Bedford Rascal (1990)

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Ep16 2.10 Jono's Volkswagen Type 2 Pickup (1979)

1. • No fewer than 12 panels were replaced before paint, then a hot tub, complete with colour changing (chromotherapy) jets was added.

Special: Pimp Madonna's Ride

1. Madonna's Volkswagen LT White van (2000)
   • The interior of the van was pimped by MTV UK for the music video "Sorry" which was filmed in London in January 2006. The exterior of the vehicle was kept original. A special episode of the show called 'Pimp Madonna's Ride' aired on MTV on Sunday 19 February 2006, the eve of the release of the single "Sorry".

Season 3 (2007)

1. LDV 400 Series Minibus (1994)
   • This was pimped as part of the 2007 Comic Relief appeal, the "Community Volunteer Transport" of the Staffordshire Moorlands. The van features an LCD screen bingo game that is linked behind each seat of the bus for the elderly passengers.
2. Oli's Renault Clio RT (1991)
3. Robin's Ford Transit (1992)
   • The van was used as a tour bus for Robin and his band, Playground Legend. It had a recording studio with a sofa in the rear, and the outside was decorated with the band's logo and a picture of the band members.
4. Abi's Daihatsu Hi-Jet (1999)
5. Dave's Ford Fiesta (1994)
6. Jaguar XJ (1990)

References

1. Retro Ford Magazine. Issue 3

External links

• Pimp My Ride at MTV.com
• Pimp My Ride UK
• Official Pimp My Ride UK Car Close-Ups Game
• Tim Westwood Site