Singer Vehicle Design made a name for itself with its unbelievably comprehensive restomodded 911s. The folks at Cyan Racing specialize in the bite-the-back-of-your-hand pretty Volvo P1800, which is only natural given that Cyan Racing used to be Volvo's factory racing team.
Formerly known as Flash Engineering and Polestar Racing, the Swedish company entered the restomodding scene in grand style with the P1800 Cyan. Revealed nearly three years ago, the meticulously detailed coupe is now available in gran turismo flavor. Cyan Racing says that only a limited number of GTs will be produced. As expected of a restomod of this caliber, pricing isn't available.
Back in 2020, the P1800 Cyan was advertised with a starting price of $500,000 for the US. Come 2022, the Molndal-based company bumped it up to $700,000 from the outset. Insane money, which is only natural for this level of attention to detail. The GT specification may be a bit more comfortable than its touring car-inspired sibling, but even so, the fully adjustable suspension is more than willing to reward you – the driver – on a winding road.
The GT in the photo gallery is one of the first builds completed by Cyan Racing. Commissioned by a US-based client, the car features unique metallic green paint, double-spoke wheels of the centerlock variety, Pirelli summer-only rubber, AP Racing brakes with drilled rotors, and a superb-looking MOMO Prototipo black leather steering wheel.
GT-specific traits include touring seats, more sound deadening, and a titanium roll cage that had been redesigned for increased comfort. Each build takes around 12 to 15 months to complete. To put that into perspective, Volvo's Torslanda plant has a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year.
Photo: Cyan Racing
“The new version highlights the versatility and almost endless tailoring options of the Volvo P1800 Cyan, adding another dimension to our interpretation of the original model,” said big kahuna Christian Dahl. “The joint journey of tailoring a car from start to finish with a client is a thoroughly rewarding process for the entire team, just as it is to see two further cars being shipped to the US."
As opposed to the donor vehicle, which tips the scales at more than 1,100 kilograms (2,425 pounds), the Volvo P1800 Cyan weighs under a ton (990 kilograms or 2,183 pounds). The under-one-ton declared curb weight applies to the GT as well. In combination with a four-cylinder turbo rated at 350 ps to 420 ps (345 hp to 414 hp), the power-to-weight ratio definitely isn't for the faint of heart.
Gifted with direct fuel injection, said lump is much obliged to belt out 336 pound-feet (455 Nm) 6,000 revolutions per minute. Although the valve cover reads Cyan 2.0 L, the powerplant in question is based on Volvo's 1,969-cc mill. Be that as it may, said engine has more in common with the Volvo S60 TC1 race car than the road-going S60 sedan.
Bodied in carbon fiber, the P1800 GT further sweetens the deal with a Hollinger five-speed manual transmission rather than a motorsport-inspired sequential. Props to Cyan Racing for keeping it old school as everyone and their dog is putting a bigger emphasis on acceleration and 1/4-mile times to the detriment of pure driving enjoyment.
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. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News