Volvo P1800 S

Vehicle Description

Do you remember Roger Moore as “Simon Templar” in the TV series “The Saint”?
He always drove a white Volvo 1800. In fact, Moore liked this car so much, he bought one for private use. And now, you can, too! This Volvo P1800 S Coupe with cream white paintwork has recently been shipped back to Europe after 50 years in the US.
It comes with new bicolour (red/black) door linings, nearly new and very clean sky, red leatherette seats, all wrapped in the stylish italo-swedish body. Engine-wise, the very robust 1.8 litre 4-cylinder is installed, with an output of 71 kW (96 hp) which is sent to the wheels by means of the M41 gearbox, a 4-speed manual with electrically actuated overdrive – which makes it effectively a 5-gear. A Volvo 1800 S holds the mileage world record for passenger cars, with over 3 million miles on the first engine and gearbox, leaving no questions regarding the durability of this technology.
The overall impression of the sports coupe is pleasing, the paintwork of sub-standard quality notwithstanding, and the car is conditionally drivable. For unobstructed driving pleasure, some work will be required regarding body, undercarriage and drivetrain. The Volvo 1800 was never a common sight even when new, and is nowadays a real rarity on the streets. You’ll be sure to catch people’s eyes with this one.

Volvo’s first attempt to gain a foothold in the sports car market with the 1956 model P 1900 had been a complete disaster. The second attempt succeeded, albeit with a bumpy start: An agreement had already been reached with Karmann at Osnabrück in 1957, when VW banned the production, out of fear for competition with their own models. Production of the P 1800 therefore started with much delay towards the end of 1960 at Jensen in England. Due to quality defects, production was moved to Volvo’s own plant in Sweden in 1963.

Technically, the elegant coupe was based on the Volvo 122 S, nicknamed “Amazon”. It was said that the design came from Frua in Italy – which was only partly true, because strictly speaking, the Swede Pelle Petterson, who worked at Frua, had drawn the car.
Including the Shooting Brake “1800 ES”, available as of 1972 and known by its nickname “Snow White’s Coffin”, a total of 47,492 units of the P 1800 were built, the majority of which went to the United States.

Vehicle Overview