Photos from the Cohort by William Oliver.
Volvo’s P1800 has appeared at CC in plenty of posts, but seeing this one by the curbside, surrounded by a bunch of modern SUVs and CUVs really caught my eye. Truly, the P1800 was always somewhat offbeat; a bit of an unfashionable statement in a stylish segment. But even if it looked a bit different back in the day, against its modern surroundings this P1800E’s low-slung body looks like an object from an alternate reality.
Not that I consider that a bad thing.
Here’s another view, with this P1800E looking rather otherworldly around this bunch. What’s low, narrow, slightly elongated, and doesn’t have much interior space? And with a bunch of jet-age cues from the late ’50s? Well, a sporty Volvo from the ’60s! (Or early ’70s!) Can I interest you in one?
The whole format is rather anathema to today’s preferences, but don’t misunderstand me; I don’t mean to throw rocks at modern machinery. Change is after all, inevitable. If that wasn’t the case, we would be still driving Tin Lizzies today.
On the other hand, I also like variety. And the P1800 always gave me a good those of that, ever since I learned of its existence at an early age. I’ve honestly longed after its dorky coolness for ages, and truly desired one during my twenties. My idea of the hipster-mobile, before there was such a thing.
Now, this one is slightly marred by the post-1970 trim updates. But would I say no to its ownership for such minor details? Not likely!
Different back in the day, and even more so today. Just the kind of variety I like in life.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1964 Volvo P1800S – Transcending Time, Distance And Fashion
CC Capsule: 1971 Volvo P1800E – Scandinavian Grime Drama
Could be worthy of restoration once an assessment of the tin worm is done.
I’ll speculate its past restoration and the owner is running it till something serious falls off or the frame was to collapse. Still worthy as a parts cars to be listed on a Volvo forum for someone in need of a fender or interior part. Parts is parts!!
Too many cars of this era had little or no protection, especially FIATs…Ouch!!
As I know I’ve said countless times here, the estate version Volvo 1800ES, is the model I found most desirable. Both attractive, and timeless in its design. Always found the all-glass rear hatch, a clean and modern touch. In spite of the exposed chrome hinges.
Though the coupe and estate are dated in specific styling details, their overall proportions are so great-looking, and remain appealing.
A Chev Vega Kammback styled after the 1800ES, was a dream car I frequently envisioned as a little kid.
Would sit in a new aqua metallic1800ES while having our ’67 122s serviced at Volvo Land in Glen Burnie, and we wanted one in the worst way. IMO the “wagon” version is far more handsome, to me the coupe version looks downright microcephalic. Had an opportunity to buy a black w/ red interior ’66 P1800 from a co-worker for $800 at that time, but passed due to major rust, even MD uses a fair amount of NaCl in the wintertime and Volvos didn’t have very good rust protection back then.
Always thought the coupe looked kind of microcephalic, especially from the side. Used to sit in a new aqua metallic 1800ES while waiting in the showroom of Volvo Land in Glen Burnie having our ’67 122s serivced. Wanted one in the worst way, but far beyond our means at age 23!
I don’t think it’s fair (or accurate) to describe the 1800 as having been even a bit unfashionable in its day. I remember them as being considered quite exotic; John Steed drove an old Bentley, Emma Peel a Lotus Elan, the Route 66 guys had the Corvette, and Simon Templar drove an 1800. Not quite up there with James Bond’s Aston Martin, but more fashionable than Maxwell Smart’s Sunbeam Alpine.
The Saint tv series started in 1962, when the P1800’s styling was already 5 years old, although it didn’t go into production until 1961. So yes, in the early ’60s the P1800 wasn’t exactly unfashionable, but it was quickly becoming that way as the decade went on. Of course it can’t be compared to a vintage Bentley, but Emma Peel’s Elan was vastly more current and fashionable looking. As was Bond’s A-M.
Maxwell Smart’s Tiger/Alpine was chosen precisely because it wasn’t truly cool like Bond’s A-M; that would not have worked. He also drove a Karmann-Ghia and even a 2CV in later years/episodes. It had to be ironic; it was a send up.
FWIW, I would not actually consider the P1800 to be more fashionable than the Sunbeam, as its styling had some very dated gimmicks from 1957, the year it was styled.
The P1800 became an evergreen despite its dated styling, just like the hunchback Volvo PV444/544 had not long before. And of course the box Volvos 140/240 series. Volvo simply become known for a company that would keep building cars whose styling really was very much out of date. There was a certain camp or ironic aspect to that; it was their image.
Frankly, the P1800 didn’t work for me very well as an evergreen as say the K-G did, because the K-G had fewer styling affectations from its time and thus aged much better.
Of course all of this hangs on the definition of fashionable.
I was originally going to close with a paragraph saying something like “Why am I talking about the P1800 being unfashionable when The Saint and The Who’s Roger Daltrey drove one?”, and elaborate a bit on that… but I felt the entry was long enough as it is.
My old workmate Robin had (? has ?) a ’72 P1800 wagon, it’s a neat looking car to be sure .
-Nate
Though I like the 1800 ES better, I have no complaints about the P1800. When I was a kid, I wasn’t quite sure what to think about Volvos…and the P1800 seemed to out-Volvo Volvo. As an adult, I appreciate the P1800 for its styling. Maybe not to everyone’s taste, but that’s okay. Looking at the photos, I also thought the houses looked familiar. I thought. “That has to be a Toronto neighbourhood”…and sure enough, the Cedarvale Park sign in the background was a dead giveaway. Maybe I’ll take an afternoon bike trip out that way this summer.
As Volvo themselves used to say, “It’s either the World’s least expensive GT car, or the most expensive economy car.”
And let’s not forget that the late Irv Gordon’s P1800 is the world’s highest mileage car (3.2 million miles if I’m remembering correctly).
Glad to hear Irv Gordon mentioned. He lived the next town over from me and we met many times over coffee. What a car he had!
Why my father cross shopped the 1800 , and Porsche 912, against the Mustang GT-CS and the Mercury Cougar is beyond me. The 1800 the Swedish and German version of a pony car?
I don’t think so. Both, the Volvo as well as the Porsche, played in a much higher price league. Euro pony cars may have been the Ford Capri and the Opel Manta. But those were the 70’s. Nothing really comparable in the 60’s, I think. The BMW-02 series – starting with the two door 1600 – perhaps.
Probably the only model Volvo I’d entertain, they managed to remove the box it shipped in.
The P1800 became the car of the TV’s Simon Templar by default.
It seems that the first choice was the then new Jaguar E Type/XKE, which the producers went to see Sir William Lyons about and were promptly told that we’re selling every one we make as fast as they roll off the line – put a deposit, take a number and wait in line. Oh – and don’t think of asking for a discount!
That prompted the search for the year’s other new sporty car and the Volvo was it.
Volvo’s attitude was totally different – they gave ITC (the TV company) two cars to do as they like. Ironically, white was not part of the colour options when the P1800 first came out, so the cars had to be specially painted.
It was a win-win as the producers had a hit with the series and it put Volvo on the map in many countries where the programme aired. The Saint held legendary status in Sweden even in the 1990s, when re-runs were still aired!
Additionally, Sir Roger was so impressed with the P1800 that he bought one for his personal use and was often quoted as saying it was his personal favourite car.