Pimp My Ride Euro Street Racing

Since it first appeared on MTV in 2004, Pimp My Ride has become a global brand and a part of pop culture.

From the original Xzibit-fronted US show, to the Tim Westwood-hosted UK edition, Pimp My Ride is MTV’s most successful worldwide show. There is even a special European series, and there have been a variety of spin-off broadcasts throughout the world. The US has Trick My Truck, Germany has Pimp My Fahrrad (Pimp my Bicycle), while Italian viewers are treated to the motorcycle spin-off, Pimp My Wheels.

The program has also become a part of popular culture, with references in UK and US comedies. And the series has also spawned its own video game franchise, with the latest game, Pimp My Ride: Street Racing hitting PS2 and DS this month.

Street Racing invites gamers to ‘customise everything’, including paint jobs, decals, spoilers, head ornaments, wheels, rim and much more. Some of these modifications are purely for aesthetic reasons, but others actually increase the performance of the car, with better acceleration, speed, braking and handling.

The new game also allows gamers to race against each other in some of the biggest cities across the globe, including the UK, France and US, with several difficulty modes.

STREET APPEAL
In order to appeal to the Pimp My Ride audience, Activision Blizzard has used tracks, environments and vehicles that have been adapted from the TV show – using Hip Hop and West Coast iconography and ‘flavour’ to better appeal to the TV production’s huge audience.