Museum curator, Mike Ward with the former Grampian Police Rover SD1 Vitesse
With thanks to Martyn Smith.
The Grampian Transport Museum, Alford, can today announce the latest addition to the museums extensive vehicle collection.
A former Grampian Police Rover SD1 Vitesse, which is due to feature on the Channel 4 series ‘For the Love of Cars’, was purchased at auction on Saturday (10th January)
The vehicle – registration C356 YST – was commissioned by the force in 1985 and used to check for speeders on the then new Stonehaven bypass.
Thanks to its 190bhp 3.5litre V8 it proved to be more than capable of catching the many high performance vehicles which the relatively new oil industry had brought to the region – typically the Audi 100s and Quattros which were popular around Aberdeen at the time.
Presented by actor Philip Glenister (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes), For the Love of Cars follows a crew of mechanics as they recover and restore classic vehicles which are in need of some TLC. The former high-speed pursuit vehicle has been stripped down to allow for new metal to be welded in where required, before receiving a full respray.
Complete with original Grampian Police livery, the vehicle has a number of original features including stop signs, sirens and blue lights which are all in good working order.
Curator Mike Ward is delighted to be able to bring the vehicle back to Aberdeenshire.
“We’ve been aware of this particular vehicle for some time now – it’s no stranger to our museum and in fact has appeared here before. When we found out that it was up for sale it was always our intention to try and bring this rare example ‘back home’. The hammer went down at £9,750 which is a new world record for a Rover SD1 at auction.
“It’s sure to be a fantastic addition to our collection and we’ll also make sure it’s put to good use at our very popular Emergency Vehicle Rides session which takes place on 10th April.”