Saintly stunner
Tommy Knox’s Volvo is more stylish than The Saint’s and will most likely outshine other classics for years to come, writes Colene McKessick
Published:
WHEN Tommy Knox tells people he drives a Volvo 1800ES, people have visions of him suited and booted a la Roger Moore as he cracked innuendos while perched on the bonnet of the car featured in cult TV show The Saint.
But Tommy’s car is even more stylish than the ex-Bond’s. The Volvo 1800ES is the estate version of The Saint’s car – and it’s much rarer.
The Volvo P1800 saloon was built from 1961 until 1972, but it was only in the final production year that the 1800ES hatchback was produced.
This long and typically Swedish-looking car featured an all-glass tailgate – which has since been copied in the new Volvo C30.
And it was the car’s exclusivity and stunning looks that attracted Tommy.
Tommy has long been an admirer of classic cars, having owned two Rolls-Royces and an MG TD in the past. But when he and his wife, Rhona, decided to retire to Spain 20 years ago, it meant he had to sell his prized possessions.
“It was awful selling them after I’d restored them myself, but it had to be done,” said Tommy, 75, a former fruit merchant from Inverness.
“We moved to Torrevieja, near Alicante, and lived there for 20 years, but my wife was missing seeing our grandchildren grow up so we moved back permanently this year.”
On previous trips back to Scotland, seeing classic cars for sale whetted Tommy’s appetite for a special motor.
“I had a hankering to get my hands on another classic, but I didn’t want to have to restore it. Those days are behind me,” he said.
“So, two years ago, I saw this Volvo for sale in the Black Isle and thought it looked quite interesting. It was an unusual looking car and, obviously, I remembered the saloon version in The Saint with Roger Moore looking all suave, so I thought, ‘I’ll have that’.”
The car is in excellent condition, which Tommy is particularly chuffed about.
“I’m past the stage of major restorations. I did that with my Rolls-Royces, and I’m quite happy to have my knuckles with their skin on now,” he laughed.
“The couple I bought the Volvo from said it was refurbished 11 years ago, so its makeover is lasting it well. The woman, Mrs Young, said, ‘I hope it’s going to a good home now’, and I think she would be happy with it if she saw it now.
“It gets a lot of attention because of how unusual it is, and how much I polish it. My friend, Len Cranston, is a first-class mechanic and I really appreciate all of his help maintaining it.”
Of course, having been without a classic car for so long, Tommy is keen to use the car as much as he can.
“Even if I just need to nip down to the shops for a pint of milk, I’ll take the Volvo,” he said.
“It’s a great car on the road, with plenty of power. It likes you to put the foot down. I drove to Ayr to visit the grandchildren and it was cruising along at 70mph no problem. It doesn’t have any power-steering, but that’s not a problem.
“I’ve been going to car shows for years. I go for fun, not to win prizes. I’ve never seen another 1800ES at any show. They’re very rare.”
Although the Volvo may not be as valuable as the Rolls-Royces he used to own, it has come to mean a lot to Tommy.
“I went to a car show at Brodie and a gentleman came up and asked me if I would sell the Volvo,” he said.
“I went for a walk to have a think about it. As I was walking around looking at the other models, I realised that there were at least three of every other car there and that I had the only 1800ES. So I went back to him and said it definitely was not for sale and wouldn’t be any time soon.”
Tommy now puts the car into storage for winter to safeguard it, but he plans to have many more years driving it. Which is just as well, really, as it is the Volvo 1800S that holds the world record for the highest mileage on a car.
A 1966 Volvo 1800S owned by Irvin Gordon, of East Patchogue, New York, USA, holds the Guinness world record for highest mileage. It had covered in excess of 2,600,000 miles by October, 2007.
“I’ve still got a while to go with mine. It has only got 41,000,” laughed Tommy.
Readers' Comments