Volvo P1900

During a long journey in the USA in 1953 Volvo's chief executive Assar Gabrielsson saw Chevrolet's new sports-car, the Corvette. He was very impressed and he wanted that Volvo too would build a small, open sports-car with a modern, plastic body. He started a cooperation with Glasspar i California who was ordered to make a good-looking body for the Volvo-engineers to make a chassis to.
On June 2 1954 four prototypes was showed to the public. Volvo had made a frame to the body and had provided it with the engine and rear and front axles from the PV444. The engine was tuned with twin SU-carburetors, hotter cam axle, higher compression and it had a full flow oil filter. The new engine was called B14A and it had 70 hp SAE. It was the same engine that the 444 had in the USA.
Now followed thorough tests during which it showed that the car was defective. Despite this the production started in 1956 and 67cars, plus the four prototypes, were made, until Volvo's new chief executive Gunnar Engelau decided to stop the production of the P1900 in 1957. Later it showed that 68 cars were made since two cars got the same chassis number.

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