Volvo 445 Turns Sixty

Why, you might wonder, is the Volvo 445 light delivery vehicle worth mentioning? Well, for those of you who don't know, the 445 was the predecessor of the Duett, the ancestor of what later became a trademark for Volvo, at least until modern times: the estate.

Back to the 445, as we said, the car turns 60. Based on the PV444, the 445, launched in 1949, was distinguished from the saloon by having a grille with five horizontal chrome bars instead of four. It had a payload which, depending on the body version, could exceed 500kg.

The "tough light loader", as Volvo calls it, was powered by a 1.4l OHV engine, developing a staggering...40 hp. The engine did though provide good acceleration thanks to the low gearing. What was good for the acceleration, was not so good for the human ear, as the noise was a bit annoying.

The mechanics and equipment were all PV444-inspired, except for the rear axle which was sprung by two very rigid semi-elliptic leaf-springs rather than the more comfort-oriented coil-spring suspension of the 444.

As we said, the 445 spawned the first van/estate model from Volvo, the Duett. The car was in production from 1953 to 1969, when it was discontinued due to the introduction of Sweden's new crash test legislation.

In all, from the beginning of production and until it was discontinued in 1962, 4,194 bare chassis of the 445 were produced, 4,035 of them to be used on the 445 and the rest on its follower, the 210.