Trivial pursuit

I am no stranger to West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions (WOMA) and bought a BMW 530d there a few years ago I am now looking to buy a 2007 Volvo V70 T5 turbo. Can you confirm what bhp the police Volvo T70 T5 had, as an eBay dealer states that the police V70 has 300bhp, nearly 50bhp more than standard. He states the police request this upgrade? When I politely asked him what verification he had for this he just replied, "have you driven one?" He went on to tell me that if I didn’t believe him to look elsewhere. From my understanding the police don’t request engine upgrades just suspension modifications, chassis strengthening and electric mods, as confirmed by James Waddington of www.ukpolicevehicles.co.uk.

Asked on 1 May 2010 by S.G., via e-mail

Answered by Honest John
Well, that engine was available in the R. I drove it at Prodrive back in July 2003. But the cops need reliability rather than speed, and I can't find any evidence of forces ordering their cars to R spec. Anyway, why go to the guy who buys his cars from WOMA when you can buy cars direct from WOMA? The answer to that might be a lack of trade insurance and trade licence to legally get them home. (And ex police cars don't come with MoTs.) But then a 2007 might not need an MoT.
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