VOLVO P1800 S

Volvo had previously built the sports car Volvo Sport with the internal designation P1900, but it was with the P1800 that they achieved success with the sports car concept. Volvo consultant and project manager Helmer Petterson was the driving force behind the creation of the project. The car was designed by Helmer Petterson's son Pelle Petterson, who at the time was a trainee at the Italian design company Frua in Turin. The company had been started by Pietro Frua (1913-83) just before World War II, and Frua had a hand in the creation of the P1800. His sixties cars had exactly that typically Italian and sculptural elegance, which also characterizes the P1800.

The P1800 model gained wide popularity through the British TV series the Saint, where Roger Moore drove a white P1800 with the registration number ST 1, where ST apparently stands for Simon Templar (St is also short for Saint or Helgon in Swedish).

In 1966, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf received a light blue P1800 - with spoked rims and black leather seats - from Volvo's PR manager Hans Blenner and Folke Brigård. This was his first car of his own and the registration number was AA 1515. He also became an honorary member of the P1800 club.

The Volvo P1800 S was produced between August 1968 and July 1969. A new B20B engine was added to the S model, and on left-hand drive wagons the classic double SU carburettors are replaced by Zenith Stromberg carburettors. The car was also equipped with triangular split two-circuit brakes from the 140 series, modified clutch and rear axle transmission. Unfortunately, the popular sports car met its grim fate when P G Gyllenhammar was hired as managing director at Volvo in 1971. He believed that the car could not be modernized to the company's road safety requirements. Production of the P1800 was discontinued, so that the company's development would concentrate on leading, road-safe and environmentally friendly family cars. 

We can now present a fine example of Volvo's P1800S from 1967. Painted in the color Ice Blue and dressed with black seats. The car was inspected and repainted in the first half of the 2000s. The car also comes with a photo album with documentation of the renovation. Both the driver's seat and the passenger's seat have been reupholstered in their original color. Contact us for more information.