It was once the favourite drive of the old Grampian Police force’s traffic officers.
And now this rare 1985 Rover SD1 Vitesse “jam sandwich” is going under the hammer after being fully restored.
The 190bhp, 3.5 litre V8 machine was used to chase speeders on the north-east busiest roads and is expected to fetch up to £8,000 when it is auctioned at the weekend.
The car was specially commissioned by Grampian Police, and the officers who patrolled the region in C356YST remember it with fondness.
Ian Slorach, who was with the force from 1975 to 2006, spent much of his time behind the wheel of the 135mph – a conservative estimate – hatchback.
He said: “I drove that car regularly down in Stonehaven Traffic back in the 1980s and it was one of my favourite vehicles.
“I just loved that car. At that time, it was just about the quickest vehicle in the fleet.
“My main role was checking for speeders and even trying to catch somebody doing 100 or 110mph, the car did its job.”
Mr Slorach’s connection to the Rover extends to more than his time spent patrolling Aberdeenshire in it.
He explained: “When I was due to retire I was put in touch with a gentleman in the London area who had bought the car and was intending to restore it to its Grampian Police glory.
“I provided him with some information about the car, and with the agreement of Grampian Police I gave him some information and bits of kit for it.”
Now living in Inverurie and working as a taxi driver, Mr Slorach was surprised last year when Aberdeen’s Police Federation Office got in touch to advise him that a television production company was after his expertise on the Rover SD1 Vitesse.
To deal with traffic issues caused by the creation of the Stonehaven bypass in 1984 Grampian Police commissioned the one-off Vitesse to track dangerous drivers.
While most police SD1 Rovers were automatics, this one had a manual gearbox and the customary electric sunroof and windows, central locking and air conditioning were deleted to simplify it, save weight and improve reliability.
The car has been restored for the Channel 4 series For the Love of Cars and will be auctioned at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday during the Autosport 2015 show.