Customer Spotlight - Phil Ryan 2007 S60R
I first got interested in Volvo's while stationed in Germany with the Air Force. I had seen several Volvo Police cars while visiting Sweden and I was intrigued by them. American service members can buy Volvo's and BMW's for a drastic reduction in price when stationed overseas so my wife and I had to decide on which make we wanted to go with. After visiting our home state of Vermont on vacation we realized that we rarely saw any old BMW's driving around Vermont but old Volvo's were commonplace. This is what broke the tie. We first bought a 2006 V70R off of the showroom floor and fell in love with Volvo's from then on. This V70R (which we don’t own anymore), saw several laps at the Nuremberg Ring track in Germany and it handled quite impressively for such a large car. My S60R was purchased used, from a local dealer with only 25,000 miles on the clock, in 2009 after first owning an S40 2.4i and a C30 T5. The S40 was economical and rather nimble, but just too slow. The C30 was quick but was just too small, so I stumbled upon my R by accident while getting my wife's XC70 serviced.
The one thing I love about the R is that it catches so many drivers by surprise with its power. With engine HP at 300 from the factory and AWD, it is so easy to get on the freeway FIRST, dashing the thoughts of the car that used to be next to me at the entrance to the on-ramp. I also cannot find a safer car on the road!
In completely bone stock trim I took her home and was instantly impressed by the R's handling capability and the instant boost levels. Since purchasing her I have added Law Enforcement Tint, IPD front sway bar bushings, IPD Torque mount, and IPD Transmission mount. I also added the Evolve (now Elevate) Cold air intake and I just love the sound of the now uncovered turbo hiss. The final modification was a custom, hand built gauge bezel that looks like it came right from the factory. The Swedespeed.com regular that made this pod for me helped facilitate my Autometer boost gauge and OBDII scan gauge, right in my original pod cluster.
I truly enjoy what IPD brings for Volvos but I enjoy more what Volvo brought to the fight with this traffic light sleeper.
I am Active Duty Air Force and am also a local Police Officer. I love the handling of my now modified Volvo as it leaves many cars grabbing at the brakes (who are trying to keep up), even though my R is quite heavy. I also like the fact that I can throw my car into a corner or freeway off-ramp, without breaking the law!
Plans for my R? Suspension, suspension, suspension. After turning corners at the "Ring", I love to carve track corners and that leaves a grin on my face. I am a former die hard drag racer, but who wants to go 10 seconds when you can turn corners for minutes! Sitting next to my R eventually will be a 1965 Shelby Cobra Replica that I will be building from the ground up. The 65 Cobra is about the only car that has the heritage to share the same concrete as my R.
