The Saint

The career of the Volvo sports car began in 1962 with the P1800. Because Volvo’s production capacity had to be created first, the first-year models were built by the English sports car manufacturer Jensen. After Volvo’s production facilities were ready and the cars rolled off the production line in Sweden, they were called the P1800 S, with S for Sweden. For the 1968 model year, the course of the side trim strips was changed. The bold curve of the trim strip had now disappeared. In August 1969, the P 1800 E model was launched, with a D-Jetronic injection system and a significantly modified dashboard. The classic chronograph-design instruments had now also disappeared, and the dashboard was decorated with artificial wood. In 1971, the coupé was replaced by the P1800 ES station wagon coupé, the first production car with a tailgate made entirely of glass. The still breathtaking design by Pelle Petterson, who worked for Pietro Frua in Italy at the time, and the proverbial robustness of Volvo technology make this car a sought-after classic. Today, the coupés are best known for the 1960s television crime series Simon Templar (English title The Saint), in which Simon Templar, alias Roger Moore, drove a white P1800 as a company car. He was originally supposed to drive an Aston Martin, but Aston Martin did not want to provide a car for filming. Volvo saw the opportunity and delivered the brand new P1800 as a film car free of charge. When Roger Moore later took on the lead role in James Bond, Aston Martin had changed its mind and delivered the now famous Aston Martin DB 5 as a film car. The Volvo P 1800 also became known through the 2015 film “Bridge of Spies” by Steven Spielberg. The film was based on the Soviet-American agent exchange on the Glienicke Bridge between Berlin and Potsdam, organized by the GDR lawyer Wolfgang Vogel. Wolfgang Vogel drove a white P 1800 in the film. It is always impressive how important a car can be for a film and how this car model is subsequently associated with the film.

This Volvo P 1800 S from the 1968 model year in white with red leather corresponds to the third car of The Saint, because over the course of the television series Simon Templar first drove a white P 1800 from the 1962 model year, then from 1965 and finally from 1968. The car was delivered to Arizona in the USA and bought by a fourth-generation collector of Polish roots living in Canada and reimported to Europe. The car was completely rebuilt by a restoration company in Poland, a good 160 kilometers east of Berlin, that we have known for 20 years. This company only restores Volvo P 1800 Coupés and Citroën DS, and since both vehicle models fit into our portfolio, a trusting business relationship has been built up over the course of decades. We can rely on the work there. This vehicle was completely dismantled and rebuilt, but almost no work was necessary on the sheet metal. Photos of the restoration are available. A Volvo like the one Simon Templar drove… the sticker on the rear is the logo of the Simon Templar film series or The Saint.

Our Économie offer for €55,800 refers to the tested, fully roadworthy vehicle without a general inspection. The standard offer for €65,900 includes the conversion to DIN instruments and DIN headlights, four new tires, a new windshield, as well as a new general inspection and an H report. The Supreme offer for €69,800 also includes retractable seat belts at the front, a right-hand exterior mirror, and cavity and underbody preservation with wax. We would be happy to send you a detailed list of the offers.