Since its inception in 1927,Volvo has been regarded as a leader in reliability and a forerunner in safety development, but not many would include the Swedish firm on any list of motoring style gurus.
Although recognised as rugged, the Volvo aesthetics tend toward the boring but, as Stuart Grant finds out, the P1800 broke the square mould for a while.
In the 1950s, Volvo felt the need to shake off its sober image with a sports car and boost sales in the lucrative American market.
Volvo designer Helmer Petterson believed such a car would succeed if styled in Italy. Volvo’s newly appointed boss Gunnar Engellau bit at the idea with Italian studio Ghia and its subsidiary, Frua, cracking the nod for clothing it.
Released at the 1960 New York and Brussels motor shows the result was a thing of beauty, featuring a Ferrari-esque grille, plenty of curved panels, a low-drag roof line and some noticeable but not in-your-face tail fins.
Inside the cabin the sporting theme continued with some orthopaedically designed bucket seats, a plethora of gauges, and although a back seat was fitted, its minute dimensions meant the car was seen and marketed as a two-seater. With a sleek design, reasonable performance, large boot, luggage straps and class-leading ventilation/heating, the P1800 cemented its place as a brilliant tourer.
JUST ENOUGH OOMPH
It wasn’t the fastest vehicle in town but had enough oomph not to embarrass, with power coming from the Amazon-derived 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine fed by twin-SU inch and three-quarter carburettors and a slightly warmer camshaft.
In fact in a wise move, Volvo dug all major mechanicals from the Amazon parts bin, which meant reliability and cost cutting.
That meant the 100 horse power was transferred to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox and overdrive, the rubber was kept in contact with a coil sprung solid rear axle and coil-sprung front end, while stopping abilities came thanks to discs up front and drums at the rear.
With the American market in mind, Italian styling and Swedish sturdiness at the fore, the P1800 was a global car.
Production was initially undertaken at the Jensen Motors factory in the UK. The reason given for the outsourcing was that the Swedish Volvo plant was crammed to capacity. Karmann had been the first choice but Volkswagen baulked at the idea.
By late 1964 production moved home to Sweden. Some say this was because Volvo expanded its facilities while others cite the poor quality control and finish at Jensen.
EVOLUTION
Whatever the situation, Volvo rebadged the P1800 as 1800S (S supposedly symbolising Sweden), gave it another eight horses and a few minor cosmetic alterations.
1966 saw a few tweaks to the engine resulting in 86kW and a top speed of 175km/h. A 2-litre engine found its way in from 1967 but the name remained P1800S.
By 1970 Volvo started feeling market and technological pressure from the rivals, resulting in the addition of a Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection (badged 1800E) model that churned out 97kW and was claimed to be good for 190km/h without upsetting the fuel consumption.
In addition the “E” received discs on all corners.
The P1800 can thank the television’s divine intervention for some good PR, as Simon Templar (Roger Moore) chased around the roads in the cold-war mystery spy thriller The Saint. Volvo supplied four P1800s for use in the TV series for the dapper British ladies’ man, Templar. In total TV time The Saint Volvos featured more than any of the James Bond Aston Martins – Roger Moore stamped his name in the history books as James Bond from 1973 to 1985. -Saturday Star
-This is an edited version of a feature in the latest edition of Classic and Performance Car Africa magazine.