Volvo Philip – 1952
During the early 50s, Volvo had ambitions to conquer the American car market, and therefore decided to develop a new model specifically for this.
The car was thus larger than the people’s car Volvo 444 of the time, and with decidedly American lines reminiscent of the American brand Kaiser. Designer Jan Wilsgaard, who also designed the Volvo Amazon, was responsible for the lines.
Volvo Philip was supposed to conquer the USA – Photo: Volvo
Under the hood was a specially developed V8 with 120 horsepower, and the tires had white sides according to the prevailing fashion in the United States.
The model was never put into production, but the concept car was used as an executive wagon by the tractor manufacturer Bolinder-Munktell for many years.
News from Tesla: Sweden’s best-selling car gets more range
Volvo Tundra – 1979
During the late 70s, Volvo was in the middle of its most box-shaped and rational period, and the managers decided to revive the brand’s image.
They therefore hired the famous Italian designer Marcello Gandini to design “something delicious” on the brand’s 300 platform. The result was the eye-catching Volvo Tundra concept car, which with its integrated bumpers and angular design language was very modern for its time.
The Volvo Tundra became a Citroën instead – Photo: Volvo
All too modern for the managers at the Volvo managers, it turned out, when they canceled the project. Gandini then took his drawings to the more adventurous managers at Citroën, who after minor adjustments put the car into production under the model name BX. The Citroën BX was a huge success, selling over 2.3 million units over 12 years.
Dangerously easy to damage the electric car when changing tires – can be expensive
Volvo VCC – 1980
If you want to push it harder, Volvo actually put the car for which the Volvo VCC was a prototype into production, but in a much less interesting format.
VCC, which is short for Volvo Concept Car, was part of the development work for the upcoming 760 model, which later came in the cheaper 740 version.
The Volvo VCC was a model for the sedan 760 – Photo: Volvo
Unlike the large sedan 760, the VCC had a compact hatchback body, with low ground clearance, a wide track and a short rear.
The car looks both sporty and tough, and would have been a fun, more compact alternative to Volvo’s larger station wagons – 15 years before the Volvo V40 was launched in 1995.
The motorcycle enthusiast Jan Emanuel: Here are his motorcycles
Driver’s license tourism: The way to trick yourself into a Swedish driver’s license