Soon the whole of the United Kingdom will be in the grip of election fever and as the public goes to the polls BMW has created a unique way for customers to personalise their cars depending on their political leanings.

BMW’s innovative Political Roundel Attachment Tag (PRAT) is a highly stylised limited edition accessory of the BMW product portfolio and comes available in the colours of all major UK parties.

BMW is helping its customers show their true political affiliation - Click to view full image

Uwe Beanhadde, Head of Made-up Technology at BMW’s renowned Forschungs und Innovationszentrum in Munich, said: “We have been working on this innovation for a number of years and see it as a niche with potentially wide appeal. One of the most popular features, sure to strike a cord with the floating voter, is that the roundel can be replaced in a matter of seconds should the opposition suddenly seem more appealing”.

News of the PRAT accessory comes swiftly after boffins at BMW offered other award winning innovations such as Canine Repellant Alloy Protection that stopped dogs relieving themselves on customers’ wheels, Magnetic Tow Technology, the ultimate in tailgating tech, and BMW Instant Messaging which let owners know what they really thought of other road users.

Whilst there are currently only 3 choices available, matching Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat colours an insider at BMW have told us that they are still considering their design for the Monster Raving Loony party which they see as an ideal choice for customers of their Ingolstadt neighbours.

Further details on PRAT can be found by contacting 0800 561 0080 or emailing Uwe.Beanhadde@bmw.co.uk.

The spoof advert was shown before the 9pm watershed and resulted in 50 viewers complaining to the broadcast and communications regulator, stating that it was too graphic and unsuitable for the time it was broadcast.

Ofcom has ruled that the episode broke broadcasting rules since there was no information before the spoof advertisement which would have prepared viewers for its potentially disturbing nature and alerted adult viewers to the fact that it may be unsuitable for younger viewers.

Top Gear will return to BBC Two this Sunday, but the start time has been put back to 9pm to avoid clashing with ITV’s X Factor show. Conveniently this now places it after the watershed, so expect more antics despite the Ofcom ruling.

Incidentally, viewers also complained about the use of the word ‘pikey’ in another Top Gear episode but this was found not have breached broadcasting rules…