Sweden has given the world a few things we really ought to be
quietly grateful for. IKEA, so that we could all learn to swear
fluently while assembling a Billy bookcase. ABBA, which you
secretly sing along to in the car with the windows firmly shut. And
Volvo, the brand that was once a byword for the safest possible way
to arrive not-quite-on-time for your appointment. Solid, square,
sensible. A car for furniture makers, architects and people who
reserve the word 'thrilling' for their annual visit to the garden
centre.
And then, somewhere around the turn of the millennium, a handful of
engineers in Gothenburg decided they'd had quite enough of being
sensible. They took the most dependable estate in their range,
shoehorned in a five-cylinder turbo with nearly 300 bhp, gave it a
chassis tuned by people who actually knew what a corner was, and
sold the thing to unsuspecting family men. The Volvo V70 R. A wolf
in an H&M suit. The sort of car you do the weekly shop in, take
the dog to the vet in, and, without so much as twitching a muscle
at the lights, rob a BMW M-driver of his good mood.
That's precisely the beauty of a fast Volvo. It doesn't shout about
it. It just sits there, with its calm Scandinavian face, as though
it's just come out of a meeting about fibreboard. And then you
plant your foot and something happens that your gut never saw
coming.
The story continues on our website, where the full file is kept as
well. 75 photographs. The service history, scanned in full. The
Carfax report. Paint thickness measured panel by panel. A timeline
from 29 December 2003 to today, with every owner and the mileage
year by year in a single graph.
Every car here follows the same route: first pre-market, then the
showroom, and finally the online auction on our own website. What
changes is the way you buy, not the location - once a car has
arrived, it stays with us in Katwijk. This one is in the showroom
and you are welcome to come and see it, no appointment needed. You
buy it here at a fixed price: no bidding, no waiting. Our showroom
in Katwijk, 30 km from Amsterdam Schiphol, is open Mon-Fri 9-18 and
Sat 10-17. Call ahead and it will be standing ready, with someone
free for you.
Within the EU no customs duty arises on this purchase. Registration
tax and registration costs in your own country are not included. We
supply the export documents and assist with the registration. The
price shown is the full price for collection in Katwijk. We arrange
insured door-to-door transport worldwide, cost quoted per
destination beforehand.
Prefer a different colour or specification than this example? Tell
us what you are looking for - another Volvo we can often find
through our network of marque specialists and collectors, outside
the listings.
Our showroom measures 6,000 m�, with over 150 cars under one roof.
HooG Selections, Katwijk, the Netherlands. Call or WhatsApp: +31 85
043 05 86.
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