Before he became known as James Bond, Roger Moore starred in a 1960s British TV series called "The Saint" where he played rogue womanizing good guy Simon Templar. In the series he drove a white Volvo model P1800. In 1954 Volvo's first attempt at a sport car, the P1900 turned out to be too expensive to manufacture and only 67 were produced. Having failed with the P1900 Volvo executives were determined to get it right the next time and their attempt would be a true European affair. Volvo reached an agreement with an Italian manufacturer for the design and then had another Italian firm, Frua, build a prototype. By 1960 the car was ready for production but Volvo had no space to make it so they turned to Britian. They contracted the Pressed Steel Company to create the bodies in their Scottish factory and then send the panels to England where Jensen (maker of the Jensen Interceptor) was to fit them together. From May 1961 until March 1963 Jensen assembled the first 6,000 P1800s. Volvo then relocated production to Sweden although Pressed Steel continued to supply the bodies. It was through this English connection that the P1800 first caught the eye of the producers of The Saint. Originally they thought a Jaguar XKE should be the car for Mr Templar but when Jaguar failed to respond to their inquiry they approached Volvo. Within a week a P1800 was delivered to the set. The Saint was a great advertisement for the car and the show was so popular that when toy manufacturer Corgi issued a special P1800 as "The Saint's Volvo" it outsold the ordinary P1800 toy car by 1.2 million. When the P1800 arrived in the U.S it was priced just under $4,000 making it cheaper than Jaguars and BMWs. An advertising slogan claimed "What's it like to own a $10,000 car - find out for $3,995." The P1800 is an individual's car, elegant, yet mean, sporty, and fast. Recently American driver Irv Gordon drove his 1966 P1800 2 million miles, placing him in the Guiness Book of Worlds records. The P1800 is not the kind of car one usually associates with Volvo because they have a reputation for safety, reliability and usually large boxy cars. The P1800s most impressive attribute is its strength. You can stack 4 on top of each other and the roof wouldn't give in. During its 11 year run, aside from introducing fuel injection, the car had no radical changes. The P1800 is, like many classic cars, an oddity. Conceived by a Swede, designed by Italians, manuafctured in Scotland, assembled in England, and sold well in America. It is a true 1960s car with design features like small windows and round flowing lines. Well made and treasured by their owners, the P1800 is a car worth seeking if you have Cobra fever in your heart but Hot Wheels budget in your wallet.
