Is Volvo preparing a nostalgic, retro-electro project?
Photographers have spied a camouflaged Volvo P1800 with some body modifications suggesting Volvo and electrified offshoot Polestar could be plotting a revival project for the iconic Swedish coupe.
These photos were taken outside Volvo’s Hällered Proving Ground near Gothenburg, Sweden. The vehicle you see here is registered as a red 1964 Volvo P18335 VD, though our keen-eyed sources noted chunkier wheel arches, a larger wheel and tyre package, no exhaust pipes, and different lower sections of the body compared to the original.
It’s believed this vehicle is an electric restoration of the classic coupe, in the works for reveal on the nameplate’s 60th anniversary in 2021 – similar in concept to the Jaguar E-Type Zero conversion project, which was put on pause late last year.
Our sources suggest the ‘Volvo Polestar P1800’ is a ‘restomod’ that could run the electric drive system from the Polestar 2 or the plug-in hybrid drivetrain from the Polestar 1. We think the former is more likely given the lack of exhaust pipes and aero-optimised wheels.
Based on the same CMA architecture as the Volvo XC40 SUV, the Chinese-made Polestar 2 is powered by a dual-motor electric powertrain with 300kW of power and 660Nm of torque. The 78kWh battery pack is good for ‘around 500km‘ of claimed range.
Further digging into the vehicle’s registration history uncovered that this particular Volvo P1800 is actually owned by Mattias Evensson, who happens to be the head of engine development at Cyan Racing AB.
Cyan Racing is now the motorsport partner of the Geely Group, first founded in the mid-1990s as Volvo’s factory racing team. Cyan Racing was behind a number of Volvo Polestar models including the C30 and S60 Polestar concepts, as well as the eventual S60 Polestar production models and Volvo’s touring car ventures between 1996 and 2017.
It’s likely we won’t see anything official from Volvo or Polestar until next year as the company starts planning its 60th anniversary celebrations, but it seems pretty obvious the Swedish brand is looking to celebrate its history and future in a very special way.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
