It’s been 50 years since Volvo introduced the P1800, and the Swedish automaker has chosen to mark the occasion by releasing a few sketches of what a modern interpretation of the sports coupe would look like. Christopher Benjamin, chief designer with Volvo, just so happens to be a big fan of the P1800 and worked up the sketches as part of a Twitter chat with fans of the brand. Needless to say, the sketches have created a serious stir among the Volvo faithful, but the company has made it clear there are no plans to bring a modernized P1800 to market.

That’s a real shame, too. We can imagine such a vehicle would give the Audi A5 a serious run for its money depending on final driveline decisions.

Unfortunately, Volvo is still too busy shoring up its core products to worry about branching off into low-volume niches, at least for the moment. If you like the look of Benjamin’s sketches, head over to the Volvo Facebook page to let him know.

Volvo designer pens P1800 for 50th anniversary, no chance at production originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Think of Volvos and you’re likely to picture a station wagon carrying kids home from soccer practice. But 50 years ago, the Swedish automaker produced one of the most curvaceous sportscars on the market.

It was called the P1800, and it still stands as an icon in the company’s history and a cult favorite among collectors. Conceived in Sweden, designed in Italy and built in England, the P1800 gained fame on the screen as Roger Moore’s car in The Saint, and served as a precursor of today’s halo cars, envisioned to draw customers into the showroom.

The P1800 offered customers Ferrari-like styling with Volvo levels of dependability. That last part has certainly proven true for one owner, who holds the world record for most miles traveled in a non-commercial vehicle, and continues to beat his own record every time he pulls out of the driveway.

Irv Gordon – a retired science teacher from Patchogue, New York – racked up 1,500 miles in the first 48 hours after buying his P1800 in 1966. Within ten years of ownership, he had put on 500,000 miles. He reached the Guinness Book of World Records with 1.69 million miles in 1998, and hit the big two-million mark arriving in Manhattan’s Times Square in 2002. As of this writing, his odometer reads 2.9 million, and he’s not about to stop short of the three-million mark, touring classic car events around the world on Volvo’s behalf.

Follow the jump for a related press release and check out the images of Irv’s P1800 in the high-res gallery.

Continue reading Volvo’s iconic P1800 turns 50 as record-holding owner passes 2.9 million miles

Volvo’s iconic P1800 turns 50 as record-holding owner passes 2.9 million miles originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Volvo P1800 was always supposed to be eye candy. Despite never being intended as the highest-volume Volvo, the P1800 is still setting records in its own way. The 1800 debuted in 1961 as a way to draw people in to Volvo dealerships in the hope they’d drive away in something. The design has been credited to Pietro Frua, and while the famous Italian studio did submit drawings, it was Pelle Petterson, a student of Frua’s and son of Volvo consultant Helmer Petterson, who penned the winning sketch. The classically handsome coupe shape still turns heads, though the way the proposal was snuck in at the last minute caused agitation for Volvo’s then-president Gunnar Engellau and cheated him out of his desire to have an Italian-designed car. The subterfuge doesn’t seem to have mattered, and shrewd moves like giving a car to Roger Moore to drive for The Saint television series helped develop interest.

A pretty shape and good publicity only go so far, so it’s a good thing Volvo had robust mechanical components to borrow from its 122 model. The world’s highest-mileage automobile is an 1800S, currently headed for 3 million miles, proving the 1800′s diamond-hard durability. A new 1.8-liter engine, the B18, debuted with the P1800, and through its run, the car received a displacement increase and electronic fuel injection. In 1971, a hatchback 1800ES morphed the sports car into a Grand Turismo Estate that inspired today’s Volvo C30.

It’s good that the Volvo P1800 was attractive and strong-boned, with niche-level sales expectations. Volvo’s limited production capacity led to a rocky launch, forcing the decision to subcontract England’s Pressed Steel for body construction and Jensen for paint and assembly. It didn’t go well. Labor problems, quality challenges and supplier issues led Volvo to make room within its own production facilities for the 1800 in 1963 after 6,000 cars were built. The 1800 would remain in production for ten more years, and today, fifty years removed from its introduction, this model is a vital piece of the company’s history. Volvo’s official press release is posted after the jump.

Continue reading Volvo P1800 turns 50

Volvo P1800 turns 50 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember Mattias Vöcks’ design of a modern Volvo P1800? A member of forum Swedespeed.com sure does, and that person’s using it as the inspiration for their own custom P1800.

It’s not quite finished yet, but the results so far are quite impressive. The forum member is detailing the build and the car currently sports the hood scoop, recessed taillights and slanted headlamps found on the Vox P1800. An LS V8 from General Motors sits in the engine bay and the fenders are going to be opened up to accommodate larger wheels and tires. The builder is also incorporating the wide-open greenhouse on the Vox design, and working on a way to mimic the interior of the concept vehicle.

There are plenty of builds going on in forums across the Internet, but this is one that we’re going to keep our eye on. Check out the progress over on Swedespeed.com. Thanks for the tip, Jack!

[Source: Swedespeed.com]

Forum member bringing Volvo P1800 into the present originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Irv Gordon is already retired, he’s taken to accruing miles on his already impressively well-traveled Volvo 1800 like it’s his job. It took a while to rack up the first million miles, but the second million came more quickly, rolling the odometer over in Times Square back in 2002. Now Gordon is headed for 3 million a mere eight years later. Only big rigs put on a million miles more quickly, and even that might be debatable.

“Who would have thought such a decision, to buy a Volvo, would have created so many opportunities?” Gordon tells Autoblog. Some of his favorite miles out of the 2.8 million currently showing on the odometer (he was at 2.6 million the last time we checked) were his first trip across the United States and a trip to Europe where the 1800 and its intrepid driver drove from the United Kingdom into Sweden to see the car’s original birthplace before rolling on to other continental hamlets and accruing 5,000 miles in a month.

Irv’s 70 years old now, and he wouldn’t mind selling his beloved red Volvo coupe. Asking price? “A dollar per mile,” says Gordon. Despite what Irv calls “some very interesting offers,” nobody has offered him his asking price. That’s okay with Gordon, who acknowledges that his Volvo is the star. “Once I sell the car, no one will invite me anywhere any longer,” he quips.

Should the right buyer for the trusty red 1800 come along, Gordon knows what he’ll do. “It’d be nice to have a car with all the new creature comforts to travel in, and who knows, should I live another 10-15 years, I could put a million miles on my next vehicle and start the cycle all over again.”

While unlikely, putting three million dollars in his bank account would make those long treks more comfortable, affording fine hotels and gourmet dining versus at times sleeping in the 1800 to save some bucks. Gordon’s not complaining, “I have indeed been a very fortunate fellow,” he says. You have to respect his commitment to the little Volvo coupe that was originally purchased as a refuge from a pair of demonically unreliable Chevrolets, too. A retirement lifestyle that would allow one to travel in style and worry less about finances is a nearly universal goal, too. Gordon’s got a leg up on all of us, having put in the seat time to earn a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records and turn a stolid, stylish Swede into a wheeled pension plan.

[Source: AOL Autos | Photos: Josh Max - Irv Gordon]

Irv Gordon’s Volvo P1800 closing in on 3 million miles originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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