Martin Tilbrook

Where did Model by Model come from? Probably when I scribbled out ‘Golf GTI at forty’ as a story idea and wrote ‘Drive a cheap car to Geneva Motor Show’ in 2016. I bought a 2001 Volvo S80 for six hundred pounds on a blustery Yorkshire hillside a month later. I christened it Sven. It was my first Volvo, and the first car I’d ever named. For Model by Model, I wanted to bring the feel of the cars to the book as well as all the facts and figures. Tracking down and driving as many as possible of the cars Volvo has produced over its ninety-six-year history became something of a quest. The quest took me to Volvo's home in Gothenburg, where I cautiously trundled around in the Volvo Museum’s PV544 and 142. The Volvo Owners’ Club helped out with pre-WWII models. Volvo UK supplied the current cars, including the all-electric C40, and some legendary old Swedes like the 240. Writing Model by Model was a real adventure, meeting so many generous people who were only too happy to share their wonderful cars. I am inspired by Swedish design and culture and Volvo’s place within Sweden. I have an MA in Automotive Journalism from Coventry University, winning Car magazine's Phil Llewellin award for my story about driving Sven the S80 to the Geneva Motor Show and then the Arctic Circle.