Junkyard Find: 2002 Volvo V70 XC Ocean Race Edition
I’m always on the lookout for small-production figure, special-edition cars during my junkyard explorations, and we have admired such classics as the Etienne Aigner Volkswagen Golf and the Daytona 500 Pace Car Pontiac Grand Prix in past installments of the Junkyard Find series.
Today, we’re moving into the 21st century, for a genuine, numbers-matching, one-of-650-made 2002 Volvo Ocean Race Edition V70 Cross Country, spotted in that hotbed of nautical action: Denver.
The Ocean Race V70 came with blue paint and these very attractive fender emblems.
The Volvo Ocean Race was so prestigious in 2002 that buyers of these cars got special blue upholstery stitching.
The plastic cladding on the Ocean Race V70 was gray instead of the usual black.
I wouldn’t have noticed this car on my own, but my neighbor and fellow car writer, Andrew Ganz, had joined me for the Half Off Everything New Year’s Day sale at this junkyard. He recognized this rare special edition immediately. We had just seen an amazingly customized Mitsubishi Eclipse in the customer parking lot, so it was a good day for rare cars.
The sportscar.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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I currently own a '02 V70XC. About to turn 213K miles. It's been quite reliable. Contrary to popular belief, these P2 Volvo's will go the distance if maintenance is kept up properly. My only "gremlin" is the on board computer display that works intermittently. I can live without knowing my actual instant MPG. No biggie. The AWD system needs regular fluid changes, just like a regular 4WD. As well as the transmission needing regular fluid changes. If these items are ignored, you can forget long term ownership, as they will definitely fail. These are great cars. However, they ARE NOT Toyota's. The maintenance is more like Mercedes-Benz.
Sweet...When/if this one dies at, or over, 300K miles... I'll have a cheap replacement for my dog car. Yes, my dogs love the emmense space.