Volvo P1800S

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Volvo’s gorgeous P1800 was designed in 1957 by Swede Pelle Petterson whilst working at Italian design house Frua.

Long, low and streamlined with a rounded nose and a swooping roofline that flowed into a steeply raked rear screen flanked by a pair of tail fins, it looked effortlessly cool from the outset. However, due to various behind-the-scenes wranglings over who should make the body, production did not actually begin until 1960.

Based on the shortened floorpan of the Amazon saloon, it also shared many of the Amazon’s mechanicals with independent front suspension, a coil sprung live rear axle and disc/drum brakes. Power came from Volvo’s trusty old B18 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox with optional overdrive.

Fitted with twin SU carbs and pumping out some 115bhp, it was no fireball but could propel the coupe to over 100mph and keep it there all day. Initially manufactured in the UK by Jensen, issues with build quality meant that from 1963 onwards production was transferred to Volvo’s new Torslanda factory and henceforth the car was known as the P1800S (for Sweden).

Despite a hefty price tag of £1,800 in the UK (more than an E-Type Jaguar), sales were brisk from the start and received a significant boost when Roger Moore’s Simon Templar was seen running around in a white one in the cult TV series ‘The Saint’ from 1962 until 1969. Famously rugged and durable, a P1800S holds the record for the highest number of miles covered by one owner in the same car, American Irv Gordon having clocked up more than 3 million miles in his 1966 example with just one engine rebuild to date at 680,000 miles.

By the time the P1800S was replaced by the fuel-injected 1800E in 1969, some 24,000 examples had been sold, the vast majority in left-hand drive, with only 152 Volvo P1800 models of all types still UK registered according to DVLA figures. Good ones are increasingly sought after.

To call this particular car a good one would be to do it a grave injustice – it is by far the best example we have ever seen. First registered in May 1967, it has had only four owners to date and has covered just over 70,000 miles from new. The vendor acquired the car in 2011 from a gentleman who had owned it for 14 years, the car having belonged to a London-based actor, Ben Murphy, for the previous nine years.

Always garaged and used in fine weather only, the Volvo was already in sound condition when acquired five years ago but the vendor is a stickler for detail and determined to bring it up to show standard. To this end it was stripped to bare metal in 2012, all the glass removed and localised repairs made to the bottoms of the A-posts and front wings and the chassis outriggers replaced. It was then repainted in the original dark green and all new rubbers fitted throughout, including door and window seals, coolant hoses etc, the body repairs being documented on a CD of images on file.

The braking system was fully overhauled with many new parts, the propshaft UJs replaced and all the fluids changed including gearbox, back axle and steering box oils. The engine had been fully rebuilt by the previous owner’s garage proprietor brother-in-law in the mid-1990s at a cost of £2,500 although there are no bills for this work. The tan leather front seats were refurbished as necessary but the rest of the interior remains original including the carpets, door cards and the leather luggage straps on the fold-down rear seats, with that wonderful patina that only comes from decades of careful preservation. The chromework is also all original and in generally fine order throughout.

To really set the car off to a tee, the vendor fitted bolt-on splined hubs and painted wire wheels with new tyres, although the original steel wheels and hub caps are also included in the sale if preferred, again in excellent condition. The rare optional Volvo woodrim steering wheel is another nice touch. Since the refurbishment was completed the car has been very lightly used, mainly to attend the odd summer show, and it remains in stunning condition throughout, being virtually as clean underneath as it is up top.

Shortly before the sale the car was treated to a full Waxoil treatment, all the oils changed with quality Penrite products and a new battery fitted. A desirable overdrive equipped model, it is said to drive very well with an MOT until April 2017 with no advisories recorded. It certainly performed beautifully on the occasion of our visit with a wonderfully sweet and responsive engine.

It also comes with the original owner’s handbook in the original Volvo wallet, two sets of keys and even retains its original Blaupunkt radio. A few years ago the vendor bumped into Roger Moore in a local pub and the actor graciously signed the underside of the bonnet and drew the iconic Saint logo, posing for a photograph afterwards and complimenting him on the lovely condition of the car.

Surely the most correct and original specimen you could ever hope to find, this rare and gorgeous Swedish coupe is barely run in yet since the engine rebuild and is only reluctantly being sold to fund a new restoration project. With top examples of the P1800 now making in excess of £30,000 at auction (a 1971 1800E made almost £35,000 in March this year), it looks excellent value at the sensible guide price suggested and would be the pride of any collection.