The initial sports car from Volvo did not succeed at the time, but the unique P1900 has now become one of the most scarce Volvos ever produced.
[This story was first published in the March/April 2006 edition of Muara Digital TeamClassic.]Victoria’s Secret flannel sleepwear, Sony’s analog wind-up clock-radio, Wal-Mart’s in-house brandvin du methodChampagne and Fox News’s “We Report, You Decide” are nothing compared, paradoxically speaking, to the two words emblazoned on the back bumper of this 1957 gem: Volvo Sport.
Yes, Volvophiles, this part of Sweden’s automotive industry competed against Saab and other manufacturers in international rally events during the 1960s, when the car makers of Gothenburg also promoted the P1800. However, the rally vehicles were sedans, while the P1800s were fixed-roof coupes with very small rear seats, in contrast to the P1900, which features an open fiberglass body and two seats, similar to its contemporary, the Saab Sonett sports racer (not to be mistaken for the later Sonett II and III models that were intended for regular use). What is the Swedish term for barchetta? “Little boat” certainly fits the P1900.
Volvo’s chief executive, Assar Gabrielsson, started visiting U.S. suppliers and business partners in the 1930s to stay informed about industry developments. During a trip in 1953, he noticed the growing trend among British and Italian manufacturers.German sports carsand had a preference for the Nash-Healey and particularly the Chevy Corvette. Gabrielsson visited California’s Glasspar and promptly ordered the fiberglass boat and car body expert to create two-seat fiberglass bodies for Volvo.
Back in Sweden, Volvo created a specialized tubular frame for the body and incorporated the engine and front and rear axles from the PV444 coupe. They installed a full-flow oil filter on the B4B 1.4-liter, 44-horsepower four-cylinder engine, along with twin SU carburetors, a more aggressive camshaft, and increased compression. The resulting B14A produced 70 SAE gross horsepower at 5500 rpm and was the engine used in PV444s destined for the U.S. market. Unfortunately, the P1900 also received the PV444’s three-speed manual transmission, which had a notably long shift lever and a truck-style, long-gooseneck shifter.
The automaker created four or five prototypes and showcased one at the Brussels Salon in Belgium in January 1955. The first prototype, which was never shown to the public, featured a hardtop with a rear window that curved around. The following three, equipped with round front turn-signal lights as opposed to the square ones on the final model, were presented at Torslanda Airport in Gothenburg on June 2, 1954. This vehicle was intended for export only, not for Sweden’s cold and snowy climate. Another prototype was exhibited at the Brussels Salon in January 1955. Volvo planned to produce an initial batch of 300 cars, and three of the Torslanda prototypes were taken on a tour of Swedish dealerships during the summer of 1954. Volvo unveiled the production version at the January 1956 Brussels Salon, but customers did not receive the first vehicles until that spring. In March, Helmer Petterson and Pelle Nystrom drove one on a 9800-mile journey to Southern Europe and North Africa. Petterson noted that the frame was weak, body mountings were wearing away, door mountings were inadequate, and overall, the car did not meet Volvo’s standards. Soon after, Volvo changed its sales strategy and began selling the car in its home country, where 38 out of the 68 cars produced over two years were sold. The 1956 model accounted for 45 cars, with the remaining 23 built for the 1957 model year. Most of the 1957 models were sent to the U.S., although a few were sold in Belgium and Brazil.
Especially with its top raised, our beautifully restored 1957 model appears and feels more like a touring vehicle than a traditional sports car. Lowering the rear quarter-windows is quite difficult, as the mechanisms are located behind two small panels. There is storage space behind the seats, likely sufficient for two golf bags, and the trunk is spacious for a sports car. The “bucket” seats are actually more like a flat, split bench (they replaced the “shell”-style seats, one of several modifications from 1956), and they do not have any adjustment for rake. Additionally, the P1900 isn’t as low to the ground as most sports cars from the 1950s. With its high pontoon fenders, a square, dignified grille that anticipated the design of the 1969 to 1974 164 sedan, and piping accents—red on black for the top, boot, and carpeting, along with red piping across the cream-colored dashboard—and particularly the chrome sailboat emblem that finishes off the rear quarter-windows, there’s a sense of ease and nautical flair to the car. It may make you think of Volvo Diesel’s sailboat engines.
The curved, natural lines of the P1900’s design align with Sweden’s postmodern, sleek aesthetic. The simplicity is reflected in the exterior locks, which are only on the driver’s side (you need to open it first, then unlock the passenger door from the inside—no chance for chivalry here). Lift the front-hinged hood, and you’ll find a chain running across the engine from the dashboard to the radiator, designed for cold-air shut-off.
So get yourself out of that blonde-wood easy chair, sit down in the elegantly minimal crimson-leather driver’s seat, and lower the roof by unlatching a few mechanisms and folding the top back. There are no safety belts—unusual, considering the company was working on three-point seatbelts at the time (seatback mounts were still ahead), and there are some body-colored, un-padded panels inside.
The seating position is unusually straight for a two-seater, yet the hood appears as long as a Jaguar’s. A typically tall Swede would need to tuck his legs under the large-diameter, three-spoke banjo steering wheel, and his right leg would hit the high-beam switch each time. Pull the choke, start it up, shift the big, truck-like gearshift into first, and the P1900 takes off with barely a sound. However, once the engine reaches around 1000 rpm above idle, it’s clear this is a powerful little 70-horsepower engine. With a 5500-rpm redline, you can cruise around Miami’s South Beach in first gear most of the time. Shifting into second is a significant jump—this is a wide-ratio three-speed—and you can stay in this gear all day until you’re ready for highway speeds. The floor-mounted clutch pedal feels soft. The B14A’s single exhaust tip produces a brappy sound, the most sporty feature of this sports car. The manual steering is heavy at low speeds, but at least it offers plenty of feedback.
How is the car’s handling? The vehicle is quite soft and comfortable, lacking the MG or Triumph horse-cart suspension. However, we can’t provide much more information. The well-restored P1900 does not have a functioning tachometer, and soon we find out it also has an ineffective alternator. The unreliability of a fifty-year-old sports car, which wasn’t reliable to begin with compared to Volvo’s standards, hinders our efforts. The P1900 was a sincere, though not impressive, first attempt at a sports car and reflects the general perception of Volvo as a warm and friendly, yet coolly modern, automobile manufacturer.
Our shortened drive is appropriate for the P1900. In 1956, Gunnar Engellau took over from Gabrielsson, who established Volvo in 1926, as the company’s new leader. Engellau discontinued the P1900 just as production of the Amazon sedan and station wagon commenced, and he initiated the development of the P1800, which turned out to be a far more successful and enduring paradox. However, everything must begin somewhere, and the P1900, in its straightforward yet not particularly impressive manner, introduced Volvo to the sports car market.
1957 Volvo P1900/Sport Specifications
- Engine: 86.3-cubic-inch/1414cc overhead valve inline-four, 2×1-bbl SU carburetors
- Power and torque: 70 horsepower at 5500 revolutions per minute, 76 pound-feet at 3000 revolutions per minute
- Drivetrain: Three-speed manual, RWD
- Brakes: Front and rear shoe-type brakes
- Suspension: Front: control arms, coil springs; rear: solid axle, coil springs
- Measurements: L: 166.0 inches, W: 62.0 inches, H: Not Available
- Weight: 2129 lb
- Performance: N/A
- Price when new: N/A
EXPECT TO PAY
- Concours ready: $35,000
- Solid driver: $22,000
- Tired runner: $10,000
JOIN THE CLUB
- volvoclub.org
- vcoa.org (Volvo Club of America)
- vsa.org (Volvo Sports America)
OUR TAKE
- THEN“not the unique car that Saab is mechanically, the Swedish Volvo gains its reputation from the elegant design of its plastic-bodied sports two-seater. Attention to detail is evident in every part of its compact 15-foot length. If sold in countries other than Belgium and Switzerland, the annual production of 2500 sports, sedans, and wagons could likely be increased by double.” —Gordon Wilkins (Motor Trend, May 1956)
- NOW:Volvo has thrived in the U.S. since then, but not because of this plastic-bodied oddity. Finding one of these extremely rare sports cars today would give you a fun, albeit expensive, vehicle for leisurely drives along the coast.
Parts Bin
Sports cars often use components from large-volume sedans during production, and the Volvo P1900 is also an example of this. Below are some parts that Volvo utilized, as mentioned on New Zealand’s volvoadventures.com.
- Window mechanisms: 1935 Ford Sedan
- Taillamps: 1950 Chevrolet
- Brake and clutch systems: Jaguar XK120
- Exterior door handles: 1954 Morris Oxford
- Inside door handles: 1954 Humber Super Snipe
- Trunk hinges, windshield wipers, bumpers: 1950-1955 Volvo PV830 Taxi Model
Muara Digital Team
