We all love vintage Volvos for what they are but if a beloved Volvo also come with a great story, it elevates the car in many ways.
From Sweden: Magnus Rosenstråle’s, his dad Curt and his son Max are all involved in the story of this ST1, a 1964 Volvo 1800S with chassis number 10,447 and it has a story to tell.
When you hear of Sir Roger Moore as The Saint in the TV series with the same name and as a Volvo enthusiast, you will most likely think of this car. A right hand drive car with Minilite wheels. There is however another ST1 out there.
In the late 90’s, Volvo was visited by Sir Roger Moore as an ambassador for Unicef. (Unicef is an agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.)
At this meeting, Volvo was represented by Magnus dad, Curt Germundsson and Tuve Johannesson. That’s when Curt and Tuve put their heads together and decided it would be a great PR trick to give Sir Roger Moore a white Volvo P1800 that he later can donate to a good cause.
Sure, great idea but they didn’t have any 1800’s sitting around so they searched around until the found this 1964 Volvo 1800S. They finally found a good candidate and restored it.
Editor’s Note: I have this romantic vision of a production line where old 1800’s are coming in thru a door one end. The are worked on to perfection by Volvo technicians in blue coveralls with the old Volvo logo in white. They also would wear black clogs with steel toe inserts. In the end of this production line they are new shiny 1800 waiting for new owners. End Editors dreaming)
Having said that, it took a year for the folks at the Volvo factory to restore the car back to factory specs and they did a fantastic job including using a lot of NOS parts.
Sir Roger Moore delivered the car to a Swedish TV game show to be given away. An older gentleman from northern Sweden won the car but he was not interested in this “old” car so he was given a new Volvo instead.
Curt had himself always dreamed of owning a Volvo P1800 so when he had a chance to buy the “leftover” Volvo 1800S, he didn’t hesitate.
When Volvo celebrated it’s 75 anniversary in 2002, they had a big event at Skandinavium arena in Göteborg with Sir Roger Moore as guest. Curt lent the car to Sir Roger Moore who was photographed driving around in town as well as entering the stage during a presentation.
When Curt asked Magnus if his grandson Max likes cars, the answer was a resounding YES. OK then said Curt, the car will be his! Magnus is the custodian for this car and it is used for special occasions. Max is now 15 years old today and I am sure he is looking forward to turn 18, the legal driving age in Sweden.
The designer of the Volvo P1800 was of course Pelle Pettersson who went on to design many things including boats, clothing and his favorite: golf clubs and he is still busy with several businesses.
Pelle has his own brand of clothing under the trademark Pelle P and when Pelle have a VIP event at the store, Magnus is helping out by showing off the white Volvo 1800 on site.
Pelle also designed a limited edition golf putter called P-putter.
Thanks for sharing your story, Magnus. I hope Max and your family will enjoy the car car for years to come.
Photo by Magnus Rosenstråle
Story by Rolf Åström