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Great Cars: Volvo P1800 by Drivin' Ivan
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Few cars emit such a surprise response when the manufacturer's name is revealed to the admirer than the Volvo P1800. The shape is certainly one of the most interesting automotive shapes ever conceived, especially in station wagon form.
Originally conceived in 1957 when Volvo wanted to add a sports car to their line-up, it would take 4 years to actually go into production. Volvo engineer Helmer Pettersson conceived the car which was designed by his son, Pelle. Three prototypes were built by the Italian coach-builder Frua, but Volvo wanted Karmann to build the production cars. Volkswagen did not want the exciting car competing with their models and forbid Karmann from building the cars by threatening to cancel their contracts with the firm.
Finally Jensen Motors was chosen to build the car and the first car was delivered in 1960 as a 1961 model. The car was powered by a 2.0 Liter in line four cylinder engine mated to a four speed manual transmission. 6,000 cars were produced by Jensen when in 1963 Volvo moved production in house due to quality control concerns. The 1800 "S" as it was then called indicated that the cars were made in Sweden.
In 1972 the 1800 ES was introduced which was a hatchback / station wagon with the now famous all glass tailgate window at the rear. Production ended in 1973 after 47,492 were produced during its almost 12 year production run.
The Volvo P1800 achieved cult status when it was used by Roger Moore in the popular TV show, "The Saint". The P1800 was also very reliable and one owner famously drove the car over 2.5 million miles in just over 40 years.
The Volvo P1800 was a striking and sporty car with a top speed of close to 120 mph and a 0-60 time of 9.5 seconds which were very respectable for the day. The shape of the Volvo combines a bit of the 50's fins with European styling culminating in one of the most intriguing automotive designs of any era. The P1800's influence can still be seen on modern Volvo models like the C30.
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