ROME – Among the many cars that have become famous thanks to the cinema, there is one that these days is recalling the memories and emotions of those in the 60s who were the right age to dream of action, love, adventure. And who in front of the TV admired the exploits of Roger Moore in the role of Simon Templar, known as The Saint, a literary character created by Leslie Charteris in 1928 and risen to a television series 30 years after its appearance in bookstores.
Well: Simon Templar’s car was a Volvo P1800, the same car that Volvo Studio Milano has placed at the center of the exhibition entitled “Simon Templar, Cinema and the myth of a car” in the context of La Milanesiana 2022. A ‘car that, before becoming a star of the big screen, was designed in Sweden but designed in Italy, presented at the Brussels Motor Show but built in Great Britain and finally brought to success in the United States.
But why on earth a Swedish car for a British gentleman engaged in the fight against crime? For the sake of truth, the producers of the series initially asked Jaguar, but Jaguar refused to supply one of its cars. Volvo was therefore consulted and did not miss the opportunity. So here’s the P1800. Among other things, the car used to shoot the scenes was owned by Roger Moore himself: produced in November 1966 at the Volvo factory in Torslanda, Sweden, the car had an Ice White body, fog lights and steering wheel. Wood. Internally, a thermometer and a fan used to cool the actors while shooting in the studio were mounted. The London license plate, NUV 648E, was released on January 20, 1967, but on the scene the car sported the famous ST 1 license plate. The car was then sold to actor Martin Benson, the famous Martin Solo from the James Bond film “Mission Goldfinger “. After other changes of hands and a skilful restoration, the car is now owned by Volvo Cars.
In addition to mounting the brand new 100hp B18 engine, when it first arrived in dealerships the P1800 had a fixed canopy, steel body and many mechanical components taken directly from Amazon.
“There have been no radical changes to the external line in its life,” they tell Volvo. “Only in ’71, two years before the end of production, was the coupé added to the shooting break variant. Named 1800 ES, it had a roofline that extended towards the rear and a tail that resembled that of a station wagon (as it was called at the time), with a tailgate and a large rear window. In practice, a combined GT and wagon, the first true example of a sports wagon ”. (fp