The vehicle in question is a Volvo 262C. Marketed as the first luxury take on the Volvo coupés of the day, it was designed in Sweden but hand built by Italian firm Bertone, and came complete with leather seats, electric windows and a high quality Hi-Fi system.
Bowie's was a 1981 model (the last year of production, making it a rarer example) and registered to his real name, David Robert Jones. According to the auction house in Switzerland where Bowie had a home, he used the vehicle for a number of years until it was bought by a new owner in 1998.
The car sold in Gstaad on December 29th for 212,800 Swiss francs ($216,000) – well above the original estimate of 65,000-75,000 Swiss francs ($66,600-76,900). That was no doubt helped by the low 33,000 miles (53,000 kilometres) on the clock, and of course the fact that it was owned by the late pop culture icon.
According to Swedish classic car site klassiker.nu, the closing price was a record sum for the model.
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