The Volvo P1800 received prominence in the early 60's when a
white 1962 Volvo P1800 with number plate ST1 was driven by the character Simon
Templar (Roger Moore) in the hit TV series The Saint (1962–69). When asked to
name his favorite "movie car" many years later, Moore said it was the
Volvo P1800, commenting: "I have a great affection for the Volvo P1800,
as, of course, I owned one, as well as used one in the series. It’s a beautiful
car and I still drive a Volvo to this day."
Two new cars had been introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in
1961, a Jaguar E-Type and the Volvo P1800. Jaguar was first offered the
opportunity to provide an E-Type for the TV series but declined. Volvo accepted
and offered a P1800, leading to increased sales. Initially, Volvo lent two cars
for the series, one for static studio shots and the other for moving shots.
When the P1800S came along, one of the earlier cars was cut up to allow better interior
shots. When the series Return of the Saint was created in the 1970s, Jaguar
offered the then-new XJ-S for the series.
The Volvo P1800 is a two-passenger, front-engine, rear-drive
sports car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars as a coupe (1961–73) and
shooting-brake (1972–73).
While the P1800 was more of a stylish touring car rather
than a sports car when it came to its speed capabilities, the P1800 first
became popular when it was featured as the main car driven by Roger Moore in
the hit television series The Saint which aired from 1962-1969. The P1800
featured styling by Pietro Frua and mechanicals derived from Volvo's Amazon/122
series.
The car was marketed as the Volvo P1800, 1800S, 1800E and
1800ES.
In 1998, an 1800S was certified as the highest mileage
private vehicle driven by the original owner in non-commercial service — having
exceeded three million miles (over 4.8 million km) as of 2013.
The project was originally started in 1957 because Volvo
wanted a sports car to compete in the US & European markets, despite the
fact that their previous attempt, the P1900, had failed to take off with only
68 cars sold. The man behind the project was an engineering consultant to
Volvo, Helmer Petterson, who in the 1940s was responsible for the Volvo PV444.
The design work was done by Helmer's son Pelle Petterson, who worked at Pietro
Frua at that time. Volvo insisted it was an Italian design by Frua and only in
2009 officially recognized that Pelle Petterson designed it.[9] The Italian
Carrozzeria Pietro Frua design firm (then a recently acquired subsidiary of
Ghia) built the first three prototypes between September 1957 and early 1958,
later designated by Volvo in September 1958: P958-X1, P958-X2 and P958-X3
(P:Project, 9:September, 58:Year 1958 = P958, X: eXperimental.).
1957 Prototype P958-X1
In December 1957 Helmer Petterson drove X1, (the first
hand-built P1800 prototype) to Osnabrück, West Germany, headquarters of
Karmann. Petterson hoped that Karmann would be able to take on the tooling and
building of the P1800. Karmann's engineers had already been preparing working
drawings from the wooden styling buck at Frua. Petterson and Volvo chief
engineer Thor Berthelius met there, tested the car and discussed the
construction with Karmann. They were ready to build it and this meant that the
first cars could hit the market as early as December 1958. But in February,
Karmann's most important customer, Volkswagen VAG, forbade Karmann to take on
the job.[citation needed] They feared that the P1800 would compete with the
sales of their own cars, and threatened to cancel all their contracts with
Karmann if they took on this car. This setback almost caused the project to be
abandoned.
Other German firms, NSU, Drautz and Hanomag, were contacted
but none was chosen because Volvo did not believe they met Volvo's
manufacturing quality-control standards.
It began to appear that Volvo might never produce the P1800.
This motivated Helmer Petterson to obtain financial backing from two financial
firms with the intention of buying the components directly from Volvo and
marketing the car himself. At this point Volvo had made no mention of the P1800
and the factory would not comment. Then a press release surfaced with a photo
of the car, putting Volvo in a position where they had to acknowledge its
existence. These events influenced the company to renew its efforts: the car
was presented to the public for the first time at the Brussels Motor Show in
January 1960 and Volvo turned to Jensen Motors, whose production lines were
under-utilised, and they agreed a contract for 10,000 cars.[citation needed]
The Linwood, Scotland, body plant of manufacturer Pressed Steel was in turn
sub-contracted by Jensen to create the unibody shells, which were then taken by
rail to be assembled at Jensen in West Bromwich, England. In September 1960,
the first production P1800 (for the 1961 model year) left Jensen for an eager
public.
P1800
1963 Volvo P1800
The engine was the B18 (B for the Swedish word for gasoline:
Bensin; 18 for 1800 cc displacement) with dual SU carburettors, producing 118
hp (75 kW). This variant (named B18B) had a higher compression ratio than the
slightly less powerful twin-carb B18D used in the contemporary Amazon 122S, as
well as a different camshaft. The 'new' B18 was actually developed from the
existing B36 V8 engine used in Volvo trucks at the time. This cut production
costs, as well as furnishing the P1800 with a strong engine boasting five main
crankshaft bearings. The B18 was matched with the new and more robust M40
manual gearbox through 1963. From 1963 to 1972 the M41 gearbox with
electrically actuated overdrive was a popular option. Two overdrive types were
used, the D-Type through 1969, and the J-type through 1973. The J-type had a
slightly shorter ratio of 0.797:1 as opposed to 0.756:1 for the D-type. The
overdrive effectively gave the 1800 series a fifth gear, for improved fuel
efficiency and decreased drivetrain wear. Cars without overdrive had a
numerically lower-ratio differential, which had the interesting effect of
giving them a somewhat higher top speed (just under 120 mph (193 km/h)) than
the more popular overdrive models. This was because the non-overdrive cars could
reach the engine's redline in top gear, while the overdrive-equipped cars could
not, giving them a top speed of roughly 110 mph (177 km/h).
1800S
1964 Volvo 1800S
As time progressed, Jensen had problems with quality
control, so the contract was ended early after 6,000 cars had been built. In
1963 production was moved to Volvo's Lundby Plant in Gothenburg and the car's
name was changed to 1800S (S standing for Sverige, or in English : Sweden). The
engine was improved with an additional 8 hp (6 kW). In 1966 the four-cylinder
engine was updated to 115 PS (85 kW). Top speed was 175 km/h (109 mph). In 1969
the B18 engine was replaced with the 2-litre B20B variant of the B20 giving 118
bhp (89 kW), though it kept the designation 1800S.
1800E
1970 Volvo 1800E
For 1970 numerous changes came with the fuel-injected 1800E,
which had the B20E engine with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection and a revised
camshaft, and produced 130 bhp (97 kW) without sacrificing fuel economy. Top
speed was around 190 km/h (118 mph) and acceleration from 0–100 km/h (0–62.1
mph) took 9.5 seconds. In addition, the 1970 model was the first 1800 with
four-wheel disc brakes; until then the 1800 series had front discs and rear
drums.
1800ES
Volvo introduced its final P1800 variant, the 1800ES, in
1972 as a two-door station wagon with a frameless, all-glass tailgate. The
final design was chosen after two prototypes had been built by Sergio Coggiola
and Pietro Frua. Frua's prototype, Raketen ("the Rocket", on the right),
is located in the Volvo Museum. Both Italian prototypes were considered too
futuristic, and instead in-house designer Jan Wilsgaard's proposal, the Beach
Car, was accepted.The ES engine was downgraded to 125 bhp (92 kW) by reducing
the compression ratio with a thicker head gasket (engine variant B20F);
although maximum power was slightly down the engine was less "peaky"
and the car's on-the-road performance was actually improved.
Back on the road, the 1962 Volvo
driven by Roger Moore in The Saint which was found rotting away on a farm 22
years ago
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 01:57 BST, 23 September 2013 | UPDATED: 15:57
BST, 23 September 2013
It was found rotting away 22 years ago with the engine on
the back seat. Today it looks as good as when The Saint last stepped out of it.
The iconic original Volvo P1800 coupe driven by Roger Moore
as Simon Templar in the 1960s TV series has been fully restored by car
enthusiast Kevin Price.
It went on public display at the weekend for the first time
since he finished the labour of love.
Mr Price found the car on a farm in North Wales in 1991 and
persuaded the owner to sell it to him in 1997. He spent ten years collecting
parts and another six on the restoration.
In The Saint, which featured Moore as a suave modern-day
Robin Hood-style adventurer and was screened by ITV between 1962 and 1969, the
car bore the number plate ST1.
Although four more P1800s, one of which was used by Sir Roger personally, were later supplied by Volvo, Mr Price’s vehicle –
registered as 71 DXC – is the original.
It was displayed at the Footman James Manchester Classic Car
Show.
Mr Price, 57, who founded the Volvo Enthusiasts Club, drove
it there from his home in Bewdley, Worcestershire.
He said: 'I fell in love with the shape of the car and it
became a quest to find one.
'After I’d set up the club I was approached by a guy from North
Wales who said he had the original car from the The Saint.
'I went to have a look and it was just sat next to the barn
covered in brambles and nettles with the engine on the back seat.
'But when he finally agreed to sell and I got it home it was
in surprisingly good shape considering it had been there so long.
'As much of the original car was retained as possible and it
drives beautifully. You wouldn’t think it was a 1962 car.'
Show organiser Andy
Rouse said: 'The Saint car is a project we’ve been aware of over the years and
it’ll be great to see the final results of Kevin’s incredible hard work and
dedication.'
The car needed extensive rust removal to its panels, wheels and
front axle and it’s body shell had to be rebuilt.
Further work to the gear box, rear axle and engine, which
included a conversion for unleaded fuel, was also undertaken to make it
roadworthy.
Once asked to name his favourite movie cars, Sir Roger said:
'I have a great affection for the Volvo P1800, as, of course, I owned one as
well as used one in the series. It’s a beautiful car and I still drive a Volvo
to this day.'
But Sir Roger and The Saint producers had initially wanted
to feature a Jaguar E-type.
But Jag were inundated with offers and declined to take part
so the P1800, which was first-built at the Jensen Motors factory in the West
Midlands before production was switched to Sweden, was used instead.
Sir Roger’s performances as Templar pre-dated his role as
James Bond as he was reportedly asked to play 007 at least twice during the
series but had to turn the role down both times due to his television
commitments.
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