When Volvo´s new sportscar P1800 was shown to the press the 3rd of May 1961, one of the three cars was red and with chassis number 52. Today, 60 years later, it is one of the oldest existing P1800 and it´s being auctioned by Bilweb Auctions 16th of September.
A barn find, a car that is recovered after being put away in a barn for decades, is a mythical thing in the classic car world. This Volvo P1800 meets all the requirements for a barn find, stored since 1976 and just recently rolled out into the daylight.
- “Is it worth any money” the owners asked quietly when they contacted us, says Michael Luft at Bilweb Auctions, the Swedish company specializing on classic cars.
The answer was “yes” and the estimated value has been put at between 80 000 and 120 000 SEK. There are, however, significant challenges for a new owner to put the car back on the road again. There is plentiful of rust – everywhere.
- But the car is fairly complete, so it is absolutely not impossible to restore it. There are many enthusiasts being triggered a bit extra by this kind of ultimate restoration objects, continues Michael Luft.
Background:
When Volvo in the late Fifties decided to build a sportscar with the model name P1800, they had not enough production capacity in Sweden. They decided to turn to the British car maker Jensen in West Bromwich, a company making exclusive sportscars more or less by hand. Production of the P1800 started in autumn 1960, but two and a half years later Volvo had had enough of poor building quality and unpredictable unions. The P1800 was taken home to the Lundby factory in Gothenburg and the “P” disappeared from the model name. The sportscar was now called 1800 S – S for Sweden.
The 6000 cars manufactured in West Bromwich is often distinguished as “P1800 Jensens”.
