Volvo P1800

Volvo P1800, Pelle Petterson at Frua in Turin
Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0

The sports car with the long bonnet, the sweeping side line and the small rear fins.

Volvo wanted a sports car and had the Frua design studio in Turin develop it. The designer was the young Swede Pelle Petterson, son of Helmer Petterson, who had led the work on the Volvo PV444.

The car arrived in 1961 and became famous worldwide when Roger Moore drove a white P1800 in the TV series The Saint. A 1966 P1800 has also covered more than five million kilometres, more than any other car with the same owner.

Materials: Sheet steel

Manufacture: The body was built first by Jensen in England and then by Volvo in Gothenburg; made 1961–1973.

The sweeping line along the side that ends in the small fins on the rear wings.

The long bonnet and the short tail.

The wide chrome grille.

A long bonnet, a distinct line along the side that curves down towards the rear wheels and small tailfins.

The first cars, in 1961–1963, were built by Jensen in England. Production then moved to Sweden and the model was called the 1800S. The 1800ES from 1971 was an estate with a glass tailgate.