Description
Volvo 140 & 160 Series P1800 Hardcover book (fragment of the text)
Success in the field of mass production (from the model PV 444) allowed the company to invest in developing the P1800 sports model.
The design of the new car was developed in the Italian studio Frua, and production was initially organized at the British factory of the Jensen company. In addition to its memorable design, the car had all the advantages inherent to Volvo cars, including unparalleled reliability.
The P1800 coupe holds the absolute world record – the car owned by Irwin Gordon, a teacher from the USA, was driven over 5.2 million kilometers! In 1971, a new model appeared in the 1800 family, designated 1800 ES.
The car was the symbiosis of a sporty hatchback and a roomy station wagon. Among its features were a large glass pane, an abundance of chrome, a long roof line, and a glass luggage door.
In August 1966, Volvo revealed to the world a model of the new 140 family. It not only became the basis for creating several generations of the brand’s cars, but also laid the foundations for forming the brand image, which is firmly entrenched in creating Volvo fans all over the world.
In the new corporate designation, the first digit corresponded to the series, the second to the number of cylinders, and the third to the number of doors.
The new car’s concept corresponded to the trends characteristic of the 1960s, when buyers preferred the functionality of the car. Scandinavian design with its clean and simple lines is still popular today, and the 140-series cars clearly demonstrated its identity.
In 1968, the 164 model joined the Volvo family. The modern history of the brand’s 6-cylinder cars began with it, which was continued by the Volvo 260, 760, and S80. Thanks to the new car, the company firmly took its place in the premium car segment.
The new Volvo 144 was presented to journalists on August 17, 1966: almost 400 media representatives from all over the world gathered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
In parallel with this showing, the new model was presented in Oslo, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. Volvo sought to reach the level of a truly major global automaker, and it succeeded thanks to the 144: over 8 years, more than 1.25 million cars of this series were manufactured.
The press reacted very positively to the Volvo 144. One newspaper wrote about “the safest car ever created”; another about “a car of the highest international class.”
The Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld selected the Volvo 144 as the “1966 Car of the Year” in Sweden, and the Swedish Automobile Association awarded it a gold medal, calling it “the safest car among those presented on the country’s market in 1966.”
The creators of the car, which had the internal designation Project P660, faced difficult tasks: the new model should be larger than the Amazon, but must maintain the same weight and wheelbase (2,600 mm), meet strict safety requirements, provide enough space to accommodate four or five people, and, most importantly, not be more expensive for consumers.
Investments in the project were an impressive amount for that time, 150 million Swedish kronor.
Read the continuation of this story in the book.
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