Volvo P1800S

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Finally hitting the showrooms in 1960, the strikingly handsome P1800 was Volvo\'s first attempt to enter the sports car market and came as a complete shock when first unveiled in 1957, taking the trusty, pragmatic Swede into uncharted waters.

Already busy making the elegant, yet entirely practical, safe and beautifully engineered Amazon, Volvo planned to spice up their image, employing Pelle Petterson to come up with a new design while working at Italian design house Frua in 1957. His long, low and streamlined masterpiece looked effortlessly cool from the outset, however due to various behind-the-scenes wrangling over who should make the body, production didn’t get underway until 1960.

Using many components shared with the brilliant Amazon, including its powertrain, independent front suspension and coil sprung live rear axle, the 1,778cc engine was hotted-up with twin SU carbs and pumped out some 115bhp. Although no fireball, the stylish coupe would top 100mph and being a Volvo, would keep it there all day.

The first cars ended up being manufactured for Volvo by Jensen in the UK, but from 1963 onwards, production transferred to Volvo’s new Torslanda factory and henceforth the car was known as the P1800S (for Sweden). Despite a hefty UK price tag of £1,800 (more than an E-Type Jaguar) sales were brisk from the start and received a significant boost when Roger Moore was seen running around in a white one in the cult TV series ‘The Saint’ from 1962 until 1969.

First registered in November 1964, this early Swedish-built P1800S has had just two owners from new, the vendor buying it from the original owner in 1998. Shortly after he acquired the car, the vendor treated it to a partial restoration including various bodywork repairs and a colour change from the original grey (number 82) to its current white. A full length stainless steel exhaust was fitted and the front seats were retrimmed to match the condition of the original rear seat.

The car then continued in use until put away in dry storage in about 2008. It is presented here as a running and driving car to use and improve, the vendor planning to have the car MOT’d by the time of the sale. When we visited to take the photographs, it started easily and idled smoothly while moving around for photography. It also comes with its original handbooks.

Early Volvo P1800s are now highly collectable and this Swedish-built example, without the corrosion worries of the British Jensen-built cars, retains many of the nice early features such as the ‘hockey stick’ stainless steel side trims, chromium ‘cow horn’ front bumpers and the embossed Volvo insignia in the rear seat material. With the promise of relaxed high speed cruising in overdrive top gear for many miles to come and gorgeous good looks, this rare and radically styled ‘60s icon looks mighty tempting at the guide price suggested.