This is a 1966 Volvo 121, Amazon, four door saloon with the original 1800cc engine with four speed gearbox and overdrive producing around 85bhp. The current owner purchased the car just over a year ago and has so far re-trimmed the seats, replaced numerous rubber trims and seals, fixed a few electrical issues and is planning some bodywork improvements in the winter, mainly to address some rust in the front offside wing and to put right a previously bodged inner wing repair that lets water in when it rains!
The car was first registered in Southend On Sea, and has spent much of it’s life in west London where it was a daily driver for a Swedish expat who wanted something to remind him of home!
Volvo are now synonymous with safety and it all started with the Amazon which was the first production car fitted with three point safety belts as standard equipment. In another first, it was an Amazon that became the first foreign made vehicle used by a British police force when Hampshire Constabulary purchased one for their traffic department in 1965. This was quite controversial at the time and led to letters of complaint from local residents to the Chief Constable!
The Amazon was in production from 1956 until 1970, by which time nearly 700,000 cars were sold, with the range including 2 and 4 door saloons, estates and the very popular but rare GT models.