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Cyan Racing 1964 Volvo P1800 Restomod Looks Like a Hoot to Drive

Designed by a Swedish sailor under the tutelage of Pietro Frua, the Volvo P1800 is an achingly-beautiful grand tourer produced in limited numbers. Fewer than 40,000 coupes were made, and believe it or not, one of them racked up more than 3 million miles with the original drivetrain.
964 Volvo P1800 *420HP* @Cyan Racing POV Test Drive by AutoTopNL 22 photos
Photo: AutoTopNL on YouTube
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The P1800 also happens to be perfect as a restomodding project, and none other than Cyan Racing took up the challenge to modify the 2+2 grand tourer. Revealed two months ago, the P1800 Cyan was engineered by the team behind the first world title-winning Volvo racecar, and as you would expect of these guys, the four-cylinder powerplant is a racing engine.

Lifted straight out of the S60 TC1, this motor is good for 420 PS (414 horsepower) and 455 Nm (336 pound-feet) of torque. As far as the soundtrack is concerned, the following video has got you covered with plenty of pedal-to-the-metal footage from the driver’s perspective.

Coming courtesy of AutoTopNL, the clip further includes a lot of brake squealing and plenty of shifting action. The five-speed manual in this P1800 Cyan is a dog-leg design, which means that first gear is left and down instead of left and up as it’s the case in most series-production cars.

Tipping the scales at 990 kilograms (2,183 pounds), the no-nonsense restomod features a near-perfect weight distribution between the axles. A set of Pirelli P-Zero rubber shoes, double wishbones at the front and rear, a customizable-ratio LSD, and no driving aids whatsoever translate to a gloriously engaging driving experience, albeit a noisy one at that.

Even though only one example is currently in existence, Volvo did mention something interesting about the P1800 Cyan. More to the point, “pricing and individual specification are available for prospective customers.”

Don’t get your hopes up for a bargain, though, because the attention to detail that went into the P1800 Cyan beggars belief. For example, the chassis was redesigned through triangulation using high-strength steel and carbon fiber. The lightweight but durable material is also used for the body shell, hood, and trunk, which explains the ridiculously low weight of the car.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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