1962 VOLVO P1800

This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2026 on Saturday the 14th of November, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT. Estimated price: GBP 28,000 - GBP 32,000.

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.

First registered on 30th July 1962, this early Jensen-built example, chassis number #3812, is currently finished in creamy white with a contrasting red interior and equipped with a 4-speed manual gearbox with overdrive. Historic registration records confirm that the car has undergone a colour change during its lifetime. The odometer indicated 24,536 miles at the time of cataloguing and the accompanying V5C records three former registered keepers, whilst its history file includes an early 'buff' registration book, a period Volvo P1800 instruction manual, invoices and assorted paperwork.

Having spent over 30 years off the road, it was acquired by our vendor at auction in 2022 as a partially dismantled restoration project. Its previous owner had spent many years working on the Volvo, including repainting the exterior and renewing the seat coverings, although the project remained unfinished. Our vendor, a longstanding Volvo enthusiast with a collection of eight examples of the 1800 series, subsequently commenced its restoration and, despite its lengthy period of inactivity, he was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the bodywork, reporting that the passenger-side sill was the only panel requiring replacement.

The exterior was stripped back to bare metal before being refinished in two-pack paint with lacquer, whilst the underside, reportedly never undersealed, was cleaned and repainted black. Existing components were retained wherever possible. The engine was removed to allow the engine bay to be refinished, before being refitted and serviced with replacement rubber hoses and the brakes and shock absorbers were renewed. Our vendor advises that the exterior chrome remains original to the car, with the exception of the hubcaps, which were sourced second-hand at a reported cost of £1,200.

First displayed as an unfinished project at the 2022 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, the Volvo subsequently completed the 145-mile journey from Suffolk to the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show in 2023. Further mechanical attention followed in 2024, when the engine was rebuilt.

With the ever-increasing cost of restoring classic cars, acquiring an example that has already benefited from such extensive work represents an appealing proposition. This desirable, early Jensen-built P1800 combines distinctive styling, extensive restoration work and a rebuilt engine, with an interesting history and accompanying historic documentation.