Volvo P1900

Volvo
Volvo P1900 (1956)
P1900
Sales designation:	P1900
Production period:	1956-1957
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Cabriolet
Engines:	Otto engine : 1.4 liters (51 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :	969 kg
successor	P1800

The Volvo P1900 was a sports car from the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo , which was introduced in 1954 and produced in very small numbers from 1956 to 1957. Instead of the planned 300, only 67 were built.

Sportiness was not associated with Volvo until 1954, but Assar Gabrielsson wanted to change that. He was fascinated by the possibilities of the new technology of fiberglass-reinforced plastic in body construction and, on a business trip in the USA in 1953, started negotiations with the company Glasspar, which also built the body of the Chevrolet Corvette introduced in early 1953 .

The four-cylinder B14B engine built into the P1900, which was based on the B4B engine of the PV444 , had a displacement of 1414 cm³ and developed 51 kW (70 SAE PS ) at 5500 rpm. This gave the car, which weighed just 969 kg, a top speed of 150 km / h.

The extremely short development time of just two years, after which Volvo put the car on the road, should take revenge. In 1957, Volvo's then new managing director Gunnar Engellau borrowed a P1900 over the weekend and, according to legend, the first thing to stop production next Monday morning, as the car was far from the quality standards that Volvo demanded. The frame was not stiff enough, the plastic body was not tight and also not properly processed.

In addition, although the public interest in the new P1900 was very high, almost no one wanted to buy the car, which did not fit into Volvo's offer at the time. At almost SEK 20,000, it was also twice as expensive as a PV444.

The sales figures were disappointing for the Swedish automobile manufacturer, production too expensive and quality poor. 44 vehicles were produced in 1956 and 23 vehicles in 1957. A few years later it was realized that a chassis number was probably assigned twice, so there were probably even 68 cars built. Buyers expected another car from Sweden, so production was soon stopped again.

Of the few P1900s that have been sold, around 50 still exist worldwide today, most of them restored and fully functional.

Web links

Commons : Volvo P1900  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files