“I roll.” That’s what Volvo means when translated from its Latin origin. And yes, we have to admit, we like how the company rolls. And the car that that best exemplifies our liking for what the company dishes out is the classic and oh-so stylish Volvo P1800.

The Volvo P1800 was a sports car that traces its roots back to 1957. The person that engineered the project was Helmer Pettersson, engineer consultant to Volvo. Even though the company’s previous attempt to put out a sports car blew up in its face (the ill-fated P1900), Volvo placed its faith in Pettersson thanks to the work he did for the Volvo PV444. So, due to the work Pettersson put in (and the faith Volvo placed in him), the company was able to produce the Volvo P1800, which became highly successful in the automotive market from 1961 to 1973.

During its production run, the Volvo P1800 was equipped with an array of engine options. The first of these engines was the B18 engine with SU carburetors. A M40 manual gearbox was installed with the B18 engine during the onset but was later replaced by the M41 manual gearbox that had an overdrive option. This gave the P1800 an optional fifth gear allowing it to provide better fuel efficiency and decreased drive train wear. Although it sounded like having an overdrive was a good thing, for some weird reason, having one reduced the speed that the engine produced. So if the standard P1800 was able to hit 120 mph, the overdrive version could only get 110 mph. This was attributed to the lower geared differential in non-overdrive P1800s.

1966 marked a change in engines for the P1800 shifting from the B18 engine to the 2-liter B20 engine. This allowed the sports car to produce 118 bhp. Later models of the B20 (dubbed the B20E) were equipped with fuel injection and a revised camshaft. This allowed it to hit 130 bhp without compromising fuel efficiency.

While there’s a lot of talk about its engine options, it’s not the only thing that the Volvo P1800 will be remembered for. There’s also the use of its all-glass tailgate which was seen in its station wagon version. This became a popular fixture in other Volvo models like the Volvo 480 and the Volvo C30.

So, if you end up going to any showrooms or events in the near future and the Volvo P1800 happens to be on display, be sure to take a look at the sports car that made a lasting impact, even on modern cars today.

Sources: Wikipedia: Volvo P1800, Wikipedia: Volvo