Historically Volvo is not usually associated with the most sexy, evocative and elegant of designs. Funny then, that this is precisely what they produced for 12 years up through the Sixties and early Seventies…
Of course, looks are always a matter of taste, and we could no doubt debate forever whether the Volvo P1800 is the most stunning ever, or merely another very well executed coupé design among many others. But I seriously doubt there can be many car enthusiasts who would ever claim that this Swedish classic is ugly or otherwise unresolved. The lines are dashingly Italian, but also incorporate more than just a hint of American design cues. The result is a stunningly elegant coupé, which caused quite a stir when it was first presented to the public at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1960.
Back in 2013 we published an article here on ViaRETRO, where Danish journalist and P1800-owner, Martin Lund, payed the Swedish designer Pelle Petterson a visit leading up to the 50th anniversary of the P1800. It’s a great story and definitely worth a revisit:
ViaRETRO – A Sexy Volvo: P1800
Besides telling the story of Pelle Petterson, it also explains how the P1800 came to be. The article even includes plenty of stats on the charming Swedish coupé, so I’ll spare you from repeating it all here as well.
In recent years the price of P1800’s and its later variants 1800S, 1800E and the shooting brake 1800ES, have steadily climbed north. As such, this week’s Prime Find is no longer the amazingly undervalued find which it could have been just a few years ago. However, there seems to be no indication of this price trend dropping off, so even though the classic Swedish coupé is now dearer than ever, it might still be worthwhile purchasing one now, if you have always dreamt of having one in your garage.
The Swedish coupé which so tempted us this week is a RHD 1968 Volvo 1800S. If you know your P1800’s – or if you followed the link to Martin’s article here on ViaRETRO – you’ll recognize by the year and not least the ‘S’ means that this is a Swedish built car. As such it lacks those prolific cowhorn front bumpers and a few other details from the first two years of production. Instead, being assembled by Volvo in Gothenburg, rather than by Jensen in West Bromwich, the 1800S boasts much better build quality. This particular car presents highly original and looks great in dark green over a beige interior. The selling dealer claims only 36,000 miles, and that old MOT certificates and tax discs verify that the Volvo has been off the road since 1976, making the low mileage believable. We’ve borrowed these pictures from the advert on eBay…
After 41 years in storage, the dealer has now recommissioned the 1800S so that it comes serviced and with a fresh MOT. If you’re feeling tempted, you can see the full advert by clicking the link below, where the dealer has the Volvo up for sale at £24,950.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us inspire by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk