Sexy Swedish Redo For $700,000
It’s easy to look back on life and see what could have been improved upon. My college GPA, for instance. Or my pick-up lines in my 20’s, such that they were.
The automobile industry, big and small, is in the throws of this upheaval. From Aston Martin and Jaguar to Can-Am cars, nostalgia has come flooding back in the guise of restomods, those cars that look similar to what they were, what we remember, but a totally different animal. This classic car look with modern technology under the skin has become all the rage, and rightfully so.
Faithful replicas are aplenty, but this isn’t one of them. This is for the guy or gal that liked the looks of the original Volvo P1800, but hated anemic acceleration, shopping cart handling, and being forever tied to Roger Moore in the Saint, his car wearing the famous ‘ST 1’ license plate. Or being tied to Roger Moore in the James Bond series. Or Roger Moore, period.
The 1961-1973 Volvo P1800 began life with100 hp and 110 lb-ft, and engine tweaks along the way did little to increase forward progress. In a car blessed with good looks but desperate for a lot more power, you can always find them for sale, especially on Bring A Trailer. Currently, original Volvo P1800’s are inexpensive, even fully refurbished like this example here. A beautiful machine that sold for $59,000 in January, 2024.
This is a different animal altogether. More what it should have been if anyone in Sweden had asked for it way back then. The new Cyan 1800 engine now makes 414 hp at 7,000 rpm and 336 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 RPM’s, a massive upgrade over the original. A steel chassis and a carbon fiber body reduces the Cyan 1800 to just 2200 pounds. From the original 0-60 in 13 seconds to less than 5 in the new Cyan 1800, and with a top speed of 170 MPH, it’s still very hard to justify the price. But what a fun weekend this car would be.
“The difficulty lies in how far you can go in the refinement without losing the original car,” said Ola Granlund, Cyan’s head designer.
“We often get the comment that it is only when you see the original P1800 together with Cyan’s interpretation that you see the difference. And we take that as a confirmation that we have achieved the goal.”
