One of the effects of the combination of being told to stay at home during lockdown and retirement has been to expose me to the re-runs on daytime TV of a number of “classic” TV shows, some of which are more classic than others. Of course, one of the joys of watching old TV series – and indeed, old films – is spotting the now classic cars used in them. One of those shows that I only vaguely recall from my childhood but view now with renewed interest – despite the low-budget production values and generally less than convincing acting – is The Saint….
There are a number of cars that are inextricably linked with fictional characters from TV and film. Among the best known are the orange 1969 Dodge Charger known as the General Lee in The Dukes of Hazard, Starsky and Hutch’s red and white 1976 Ford Gran Torino with its distinctive white flash over red – which became much imitated on all manner of cars – and going further back, the 1954 Citroën Light 15 driven by Inspector Maigret.
Then there’s the hapless Mr Bean and his Mini, the black with gold eagle ’76 Pontiac Trans-am driven by Burt Reynolds and his moustache in Smokey and the Bandit, Tom Selleck (and his equally famous ‘tache) as Magnum PI and his Ferrari 308GTS, and the coolest of them all – James Bond and the Aston Martin DB5, still featuring in Bond films as recently as 2015’s Spectre.
For me, though, running the Bond DB5 a close second, is Simon Templar, otherwise known as The Saint, and the Volvo P1800 coupé. Leslie Charteris’ fictional suave and urbane playboy-cum-private eye and of course, conqueror of many a female’s heart, was first seen in print in 1928 and in film a decade later but is best known as played by Roger Moore in almost 120 TV episodes that initially ran from October 4th1962 until 9th February 1969.
The series was also shown in the USA and many other countries worldwide, and repeated syndication on satellite and cable platforms has ensured that this version of The Saint remains a recognisable figure to this day, as does the car he drove – a white 1962 model-year Volvo P1800.
In the books, Templar drove a Hirondel, but this marque was a figment of Charteris’s imagination, so in 1961 when the producers were looking for a car for The Saint – as British a character as it’s possible to be – they not unnaturally looked to Jaguar, who had the perfect car for this smooth, sophisticated and debonair Private Investigator – the recently launched E-Type. Independently wealthy, worldly-wise, and always cool, Templar would have been an excellent match for the Jaguar. However, Jaguar, for reasons best known to themselves, turned down the chance to put their car on TV screens around the world – perhaps they felt they had no need to give away cars for a potentially unsuccessful TV show when the E-Type was causing a sensation all by itself. In any case, they rectified this miscalculation when The Return of the Saint was brought to the small screen in 1979, driving an XJ-S. However, by the time the 1993 film version of The Saint was released, starring Val Kilmer, he was back in a Volvo, this time the Bertone-designed C70.
So back in 1961, the producers looked elsewhere, and in so doing, their gaze fell upon Sweden and Volvo, specifically, the new P1800 coupé, and Volvo were very happy to oblige – indeed, they ended up supplying five cars to the show during its run, including one for Moore’s personal use, and Jaguar’s loss proved to be Volvo’s gain.
As one might expect, there was also a popular scale model P1800, made by Corgi, in white with The Saint’s logo on the bonnet (even though this never featured on the TV car).
The first prototype P1800 was built in 1957, the outcome of a Swedish/Italian collaboration between Pelle Pettersen and Pietro Frua and was ultimately little changed by the time it went into production, which speaks to how complete a design the prototype must have been, but it took a while to get there. Volvo’s own factories were committed to producing the 121/122 Amazon saloons, so the company initially approached Karmann to build the car but VW intervened and would not permit it. Other German firms were approached but rejected as not meeting Volvo’s quality standards, ironic in the light of what happened later.
In the end, a contract was agreed with Jensen to build 10,000 cars, with bodies made by Pressed Steel Fisher, so in a way, The Saint actually did end up driving a British car, sort of.
The P1800 was quite a departure for Volvo, with its rakish styling and sporty appearance, since even back then, the company’s image was more one of middle-class, staid reliability rather than any sporting pretensions, and underneath it all, the P1800 was still very much a Volvo, being very closely linked to the “Amazon” saloon mechanically. The two cars shared the same 1800cc engine and transmission, though with different degrees of tuning, with the P1800 getting 100bhp, enough to propel this 2+2 to a top speed between 110 and 120mph (177 to 193kmh) depending on whether the car had overdrive or not.
Unfortunately, good old British quality control issues forced Volvo to take production back to Sweden in 1963 after just 6,000 examples had been built, by which time the P1800 received its first update, gaining a little power and an “S” for Sverige/Sweden on the end of its name, while dropping the “P”.
In 1970, the 1800S became the 1800E, with the “E” denoting fuel injection. Power was now up to 130bhp and 118mph/ 188kmh and 0-100kmh in 9.5 seconds endowed the car with performance to match its looks, which remained largely unaltered other than minor cosmetic changes to things like the bumpers and side chrome strips.
The final version of the 1800 came with the 1800ES in 1971, when the roofline was extended to create a shooting brake with a glass tailgate, competing with the Reliant GTE. A little over 8,000 of these sporting estates were built over two years, production coming to an end in June 1973, with the number of all variants built totalling 47,484.
Besides The Saint’s car, the most famous P1800 in the world was that owned by New York schoolteacher Irv Gordon, who bought one in 1966 and by the time of his death in November 2018, he had covered 3.2 million miles in it, an average of over 61,500 miles per year (!) and believed to be the greatest non-commercial mileage covered in a private car. Unsurprisingly, Volvo made good use of this to boost their already strong credentials for making durable, reliable motor cars.
60 years later, thanks in no small part to The Saint still being shown on TV screens today, the P1800 and its successors remain in the public eye. However, there are not so many around in the UK – 135 remain on our roads with another 54 SORN, though I’m sure there are many more in Sweden, so perhaps it’s no surprise that while prices are still reasonable, they are rising, with good ones now heading towards £40,000, and useable cars in the £20,000 to £25,000 range. Indeed, there is one up for sale at Historics’ Ascot sale next month with an estimate of £25,000 to £30,000, a few others at £35,000-plus and one – admittedly a fully restored Jensen-built example, for no less than £85,000 – it may already be too late to pick up a bargain.
For me, it remains the most desirable car to come out of Sweden, and 60 years on from its introduction (though you could argue it’s actually 64 years since its inception), it looks as stylish as ever.
