1971 Volvo P1800E 2.0 Coupé

The thinking behind the P1800 was that it should be an Italian design, given their reputation for style. However, the favoured final design was actually conceived by the Swedish son of the man behind the project who, fresh from an industrial design degree from New York's Pratt Institute, was working for the Italian designers Frua. His father managed to arrange for his son's design to be considered in the final five contenders and that was the one that everyone picked. The President of Volvo in particular liked it, since he had very definite views about wanting an Italian-designed car. Volvo insisted for a long time it was an Italian design by Frua and only officially credited the young Swedish designer in 2009 for conceiving what many consider one of the world's most distinctive sports coupés.

The prototype was presented to Karmann, with the hope that the firm would be able to take on the tooling and building of the P1800. They were ready to build it, but Karmann's most important customer, Volkswagen VAG, forbade Karmann to take on the job. Volvo eventually turned to UK-based Jensen Motors, whose production lines were under-utilised, and they agreed a contract for 10,000 cars. Another UK firm, Pressed Steel Ltd., was in turn sub-contracted by Jensen to create the uni-body shells, which were then taken by rail to be assembled at Jensen in West Bromwich. In September 1960, the first production P1800s left Jensen for an eager public. Production got under way but it was beset with problems and Volvo eventually transferred production home to Sweden.

During the Coupé's long life, no radical changes were made to the successful exterior lines and only details such as the grille, trim mouldings, wheels and colours differentiate the various model years. In 1970, however, numerous changes came with the fuel-injected 1800E  which had the B20E engine with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection and a revised camshaft.  It produced 130bhp (97kW) without sacrificing fuel economy. Top speed was now around 118 mph and 0–60mph took 9.5 seconds. In addition, the 1970 model was the first 1800 with four-wheel disc brakes.

Silverstone Auctions are delighted to offer this fine, 1971 Safari Yellow car. Owned by our vendor for over twenty-four years, it has covered just 64,203 miles since being delivered new by Rudds of Worthing and during his ownership he has travelled extensively in Europe enjoying the Volvo's legendary comfort and reliability. He is the car's sixth owner and has always been keen to keep the car fully maintained and running well whilst retaining its originality wherever possible. Five years ago the underside was cleaned, all suspension parts and the rear axle refurbished and a stainless steel exhaust fitted. The interior, a classic styling feature of Swedish function, is nicely original but has been treated to a new set of Nutmeg carpets. The engine bay is original and the B20E engine, renowned for its rugged reliability, appears in fine fettle.

With only 58 P1800 E models registered with the DVLA (of which 32 are declared SORN), this is a rare car - even more so in this outstanding condition.