Think of the most overly-Swedish thing you can possibly think of. Iconic furniture outlet stores, Draken fighter jets, Fika parties, and those little meatballs everyone seems to think are made from horse meat. You still wouldn't come close to the level of Swedish energy that flows through every cylinder of this turbo B6304 swapped Volvo PV444.
For those uninitiated in the earliest days of Sweden's premier automobile manufacturer, the PV444 was a bit like the Original VW Beetle for the Nordic country. First produced in the mid-1940s, the P444 was many Swede's introductions to natively produced unibody cars, as it was the first Volvo to be manufactured in this fashion.
The P444 and the later P544 had delightfully peppy little carburetted four-cylinder engines in their day. But not this particular one. This one's been heavily modified by the Brandtab performance and customization shop in the P444's native Sweden. Gone is the put-put of the four-banger that came with it. In its place is the 2.9 liters B6304 twin-turbo inline-six engine present in the XC90 SUV and S80 sedan in the early 2000s.
Now, in terms of mid-2000s engine technology, this engine was somewhat of a wonder. Perhaps the most lasting memory people still hold of these respective Volvo models from this time frame was this very engine's snappy and rev-happy nature. In a car as light and agile as the P444, it's sure to be a bespoke Swedish interpretation of restomods most often found in America. As it happens, modifying cars is a language that transcends oceans, national boundaries, cultures, and just about any other measure you can think of.
How much did it cost to build a fully custom classic car like this? Well, you're probably not going to get a straight answer, as it isn't for sale. But it's sure to be tens of thousands at least, so take that with a grain of salt if not a whole salt lick. Being able to awe at it on social media is worth a million bucks to us all.
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