To put Oxford's newly tooled Volvo 544 in context, in real life it was succeeded by the Volvo Amazon, already part of the Oxford Automobiles series. Its predecessor was the Volvo 444 first designed in 1944 and produced as a new, smaller car by Volvo Personvagnar from 1947. It represented Volvo’s first uni-body car and was an instant success with Swedish motorists who loved its strong and rugged ‘personality’ albeit looking a bit old fashioned and bulbous. 

The two-door, four-passenger 444 was upgraded to the PV544 in 1958 including a curved one-piece windscreen, larger taillights and a ribbon-type speedometer. The former 3-speed gearbox was also replaced by a 4-speed unit in the 544. Further improvements four years later saw the B16 engine replaced by Volvo’s new B18 engine. 

Oxford's model of the PV544 registered DH-73-22, decorated in pale blue, features these exterior refinements, including the B18 engine capacity printed in red on right hand side of the boot and the wheels have silver hub caps with red centres. A final authentic detail sees the interior of the car moulded in pale grey. It is interesting to note that production of this model lasted until 1966, such was the demand in Sweden.