Six ruby red 1958 PV Sports
- the unknown cars

English translation of the story "Bilarna som inte finns" in the PV-Entusisten # 3 1998.

By Bengt Andersson

In 1959 Volvo assembled six rubinröda (=ruby red) PV 544 A Sport and those are the only known 544A of that colour. Two of them were sold to competition drivers, one to Hans "Huschen" Hansson in Ludvika in Sweden, the other to Basse Hveem in Norway.
Volvo used another one of these red 544A (chassis number 241905) for competition. It was delivered to their driver Gunnar Andersson on 19 September 1959. Number 241902 was delivered to Lilleström in Norway on 13 August and the third PV (no 241903) was delivered to Norlings Motor in Ludvika on 18 August. That car was re-sold to Hans "Huschen" Hansson who were a frequent racer at that time, although he had mainly participated only in national competitions. But now he decided to try his luck also at larger events with W59077, as the registration plate read. He made his debut in the Monte Carlo Rally in January 1960. Before entering the race, he had spent some 250 hours of fine-tuning in his garage to ensure that the car would perform at its peak. As the race-cars eventually arrived in Monte Carlo, prior to the final stage, "Huschen" held the 13th position. Regretfully he didn’t perform well all the way and ended up as number 34 in the race.

Monte Carlo revisited…
A second try was made in the 1961 Monte Carlo Rally, and the experiences from the previous year came in handy. Evidently it paid off and "Huschen" and his co-driver Bjarne Lundberg ended up at second place in their class.

…and the helmet was shelved
In spite of his success, which included a Swedish Championship title on ice, "Huschen" decided to sell the car after the 1961 Monte Carlo Rally. He joined the Czeckoslovakian Skoda factory stable but quit competing after some 200 races. He made a short come-back in the 1964 Midnattsolsrallyt where he piloted another PV 544, but after that he declared himself "cured" from the racing disease. Notwithstanding, this cure did not prevent him from tracking down his old racing car in the summer of 1994. And today it has been restored to its original racing condition from the days of glory.

The PV of Basse Hveem
The red 1958 PV 544 Sport originally delivered to Lilleström in Norway is also still around. This car has the serial number 241902 which means that it preceeds the car of "Huschen" (which currently is in Ludvika). Considering the history of these rare cars, it is hard to believe that two of them still are around. This car was originally ordered from Volvo by the famous Norwegian speedway motorcycle-racer Basse Hveem. He was both Norwegian and Nordic champion in both speedway and ice-racing several times. He bought this car when he quit bike-riding, in order to compete with cars for a change. He participated in the Monte Carlo Rally, as well as in numerous rough stage gravel-road races with the PV. He is currently restoring the car and although nobody knows when it will be ready, it is good to know that this unique car will be saved. As soon as the project has finished, the car will be a part of an exhibition celebrating Basse Hveem, along with some of the JAP motorcycles he raced so successfully.

Original story by Bengt Andersson,

Translation by John Boija