Engine	Displacement	Power	Acceleration	Top Speed
Straight 4	1.8-2.0 L	100-130 bhp	9.5-14.0s	166-193 km/h 103-120 mph

Volvo had a beautiful Frua-penned body, and it became a star of The Saint alongside Roger Moore. The TV fame stuck to the model permanently. Today, hardly anyone remembers the Swedish sports coupe without mentioning that show, but the car itself attracted enormous attention when it was on sale… even though, underneath, its architecture was actually quite conventional. And on top of that – despite Volvo’s reputation for reliability – the early P1800s were built to questionable quality.

I’ll tell you for why: because Volvo simply did not have the production capacity, so manufacturing of the sports model was handed over to the British company Jensen. They received steel bodies shipped in from Scotland – and Volvo itself was practically uninvolved in the whole operation.

Jensen had a contract to build the first 10k cars, but when the Swedes saw the result, they basically said: „Nuh-uh. Nope.” The British managed to build barely 6000 examples, and in 1964, when all production was moved to Sweden, the quality finally improved. Those cars carried the 1800S designation.

The 1800S engine received a higher compression ratio and an improved valvetrain, which meant more power and more speed. Apart from that, it was essentially the same car. The „S” in the name can be misleading, because it had nothing to do with sport. The S stood for „Sverige.” But the Swedish-built car was better put together and, despite being fundamentally the same thing, it was a far better automobile than the early British-built examples.

Displacement did not increase until 1968, when it grew to two liters – although it was still the same B18-derived unit used in the Volvo Amazon. Fuel injection soon followed with the 1800E version (the „E” meaning „Einspritz”), and an automatic transmission became available a year before production ended. This variant could also be distinguished by its alloy wheels.

Because of all this mess, you can end up with two examples of supposedly the same car standing side by side: one built like a tank because it’s Swedish – and the other a piece of shit built in England. It was not a typical sports car. More of a vista cruiser in the style of Aston Martins. Only the front suspension was independent, using double wishbones. At the rear, there was a solid axle with coil springs.

The car was certainly capable of high speeds, but the fully synchronized gearbox with overdrive clearly favoured long motorway journeys in the comfort of a 2+2 coupe rather than drag racing acceleration or brutal sportscar performance – definitely not that. Volvo also equipped these cars properly. The front end had disc brakes with servo assistance, which helped the car handle well and made it very safe.

Safe and comfortable, but that was hardly a surprise… It shared a lot of its mechanical hardware with the 121 and the Amazon – the larger sedan in Volvo’s range. That gave the P1800 plenty strength. Most simply inherited from other models.

It looked Aston Martin, but underneath it was basically a Volvo. It certainly wasn’t cheap to buy, but it was still roughly half the price of the competition. Nearly 50 000 examples of all variants were sold – including the „ES” shooting brake, which was a direct rival to the Reliant Scimitar GTE in Britain – and one of those buyers was the star of the TV series himself. Roger Moore drove one on the set of The Saint, but he also owned a P1800 privately.

The final 1800E examples had a 130-horsepower B20 engine with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection, an improved valvetrain, and disc brakes on all four wheels. That setup was already capable of a solid 120 mph and could reach 0-60 in 9.5 seconds. That was more than enough to qualify the car for some proper track action.

By that point, the Volvo was no longer merely keeping up with sports cars from MG or Triumph – it was considerably faster than them. But, well… the platform had grown old. They quickly turned it into an estate, and not long after that the model was withdrawn from production. In Britain, the Swedes mainly lost out to Jaguar, thanks to the E-Type, which was not actually that much more expensive than the P1800 – and the Volvo simply had no chance of matching it in any way.

As I mentioned, the design was handled by the Frua studio – although even there, you can trace some Swedish roots. The son of Volvo’s chief engineer had just graduated from the Pratt Institute in New York, and his father – as part of the „nepotism+” initiative (actually not really) – made sure his son’s proposal reached the final five. Volvo only admitted this in 2008.

In the end, his design turned out to be the best and was selected. Volvo’s top boss at the time chose it because he wanted a car with a purely Italian shape. And all the way through, he approved the production of a model designed by one of their own countrymen while believing it was Italian – because he had no idea, and nobody told him, that the Italian studio had employed a Swedish designer. Frua built three prototypes, all according to the instructions of Pelle Petterson, with whom they worked closely – something Volvo itself did not know at the time.

It may not be the fastest car around, and it may have suffered from the shortcomings of the British-built examples, but it is still one of the better-looking classics – and one of the more accessible ones you can get now for some reasonably humane money. On top of that, it is genuinely fun to drive despite its performance limitations. Rare, attractive, simple to repair, and generally regarded as quite reliable.

One example from 1966 reached 3 million miles (around 4.8 million kilometers) in 2013, setting a new record in the process. That particular car literally outlived its owner. The man passed away five years after setting the record, and by then his Volvo had 3.2 million miles on the clock – and that still was not its final word. A very good car to start your adventure with automotive classics – just please, not Jensen-built, because that really can turn into a road through hell.

Krzysztof Wilk
All sources: it was a text retrieved from my lost webpage – sources will need to be filled later

Engine	Displacement	Power	Acceleration	Top Speed
Straight 4	1.8-2.0 L	100-130 bhp	9.5-14.0s	166-193 km/h 103-120 mph

Volvo miało przepiękną sylwetkę autorstwa biura projektowego Frua, i było gwiazdą serialu “Święty” z Rogerem Moorem. Sława serialowa przylepiła się do tego modelu nieodwracalnie. Dzisiaj bez wzmianki o tej produkcji już nikt o sportowym coupe ze Szwecji nie pamięta, ale wzbudzało ono ogromne zainteresowanie w okresie jego sprzedaży… mimo, że tak naprawdę było całkiem konwencjonalne w swej architekturze. Do tego – wbrew stereotypom o niezawodności marki – wczesne egzemplarze P1800 były wykonane tak na 30% max.

A to dlatego, że Volvo nie miało mocy przerobowej, i produkcją sportowego modelu zajął się brytyjski Jensen. Otrzymywali oni stalowe nadwozia, które przyjeżdżały do nich ze Szkocji – i Volvo praktycznie nie brało udziału w tym przedsięwzięciu.

Jensen miał kontrakt na pierwsze 10 000 sztuk, ale Szwed jak to zobaczył, powiedział że „tak być to nie bedzie”. Anglicy wykonali ledwie 6k egzemplarzy i w 1964, jak cała produkcja została przeniesiona do Szwecji, wtedy jakość się poprawiła. Te modele nosiły oznaczenie 1800S.

Silnik 1800S dostał większy współczynnik kompresji i lepszy układ rozrządu, a więc miał też więcej mocy i szybkości. Poza tym, to było właściwie to samo auto. „S” w nazwie może być mylące, bo nie ma nic wspólnego ze sportem. S oznacza „Sverige”. Ale taki pojazd był lepiej wykonany i mimo, że to samo – było to dalece lepsze auto od wczesnych, angielskich egzemplarzy.

Pojemność wzrosła dopiero w 1968 roku – były to dwa litry, ale to ta sama jednostka B18, co w Volvo Amazon. Szybko dostała wtryski dla wersji 1800E (od “Einspritz”) i możliwość automatu na rok przed końcem produkcji. Ten wariant wyróżniał się alufelgami.

Przez te zawiłości okazuje się, że mogą stać obok siebie dwa egzemplarze niby tego samego pojazdu: jeden pancerny, bo szwedzki – a drugi: śmietnik zbudowany w Anglii. Nie jest to typowe auto sportowe. Raczej krążownik szos w stylu GT Aston Martina. Tylko przód zawieszenia był niezależny – na podwójnych wahaczach. Z tyłu był sztywny most ze sprężyną śrubową.

Pojazd jak najbardziej zdolny do wysokich prędkości, ale w pełni zsynchronizowana skrzynia z nadbiegiem raczej faworyzuje długie autostradowe podróże w wygodzie i komforcie coupe 2+2, aniżeli brutalne emocje i osiągi na torze – co to, to nie. Volvo solidnie dopasało te pojazdy. Przód miał hamulce tarczowe z serwem hamulcowym, dzięki czemu auto dobrze się prowadziło i było bardzo bezpieczne.

Bezpieczne i wygodne, ale żadna to niespodzianka… Wiele mechaniki dzieliło z 121 i Amazonem – większym sedanem w gamie Volvo. Dlatego P1800 miało sporo zalet. Większość z nich po prostu odziedziczyło po innych modelach.

Wyglądało jak Aston Martin, ale było praktycznie jak Volvo. Nie było co prawda tanie w zakupie, ale na pewno o połowę tańsze od konkurencji. Prawie 50 tysięcy wszystkich wariantów (razem z wersją „ES” w postaci shooting brake’a – to był bezpośredni rywal Relianta Scimitar GTE na wyspach) wyjechało do klientów – i jednym z nich była gwiazda serialu. Roger Moore jeździł nim na planie “Świętego”, ale i poza planem miał w posiadaniu model P1800.

Ostateczne egzemplarze 1800E miały 130-konny silnik w wariancie B20 z wtryskiem Bosch D-Jetronic, poprawiony układ rozrządu, i hamulce tarczowe na wszystkich kołach. Takie coś już potrafiło robić dobre 200 km/h i przekraczało setkę w 9.5 sekundy. To w zupełności kwalifikuje ten pojazd do zmagań na torze.

Już nie tylko takie Volvo równało się ze sportowymi MG, czy Triumphami, ale było od nich dużo szybsze. No ale cóż… platforma się zestarzała – szybko zrobili z niego kombi i potem model wycofano z produkcji. Na wyspach Szwedzi przegrali głównie z Jaguarem – za sprawą modelu E-Type, który wcale niewiele był od P1800 droższy, a Volvo w żaden sposób nie mogło się z nim równać.

Jak wspomniałem, za design odpowiedzialne było biuro projektowe Frua – ale tam też można doszukiwać się szwedzkich korzeni. Syn głównego inżyniera Volvo świeżo uzyskał dyplom z Instytutu Pratta w Nowym Jorku i jego ojciec – w ramach projektu „nepotyzm +” – załatwił, że projekt syna dostał się do finałowej piątki – do czego Volvo przyznało się dopiero w 2008 roku.

Ostatecznie okazał się najlepszy i został wybrany. Ówczesny papież Volvo wyselekcjonował ten projekt, bo chciał auto z czysto włoską linią. I do końca z takim przeświadczeniem zaklepał produkcję modelu ich rodzimego projektanta – bo nie miał pojęcia, nikt mu nie powiedział, że włoska firma zatrudniała rodzimego projektanta. Frua wykonała trzy prototypy – wszystkie zgodnie z instrukcjami Pelle Pettersona, z którym ściśle współpracowali (o czym Volvo nie wiedziało).

Może nie jest to najszybsze auto, a i może cierpiało od niedoróbek angielskich egzemplarzy, ale jest to jeden z ładniejszych klasyków – i jeden z bardziej przystępnych do dostania za jakieś ludzkie pieniądze. Do tego sprawia dużo frajdy z jazdy mimo braków w osiągach. Rzadko spotykany, wygląda ładnie, prosty w naprawach i uchodzi za raczej niezawodny.

Jeden egzemplarz z 1966 roku w 2013 dojechał do 3 miliona mil (ok. 4.8M kilometrów) przebiegu, czym wyznaczył nowy rekord. Ten konkretny dosłownie przeżył swojego właściciela. Chłop zszedł w 5 lat po ustanowieniu rekordu, jego Volvo w tamtym momencie miało 3.2M mil na liczniku – a to nie było ostatnie słowo. Dobre auto do rozpoczęcia swej przygody z klasykami motoryzacji – tylko błagam: nie Jensen, bo to faktycznie może się okazać droga przez mękę.

Krzysztof Wilk
Żródła: to odzyskany tekst z utraconej witryny – źródła są do uzupełnienia

Engine	Displacement	Power	Acceleration	Top Speed
V12	5.0-5.7 L	350-416 bhp	5.8-6.4s	280-300 km/h 174-186 mph

One of the fastest cars to wear an Alpina badge was the B12 – and in fact, there were two different cars carrying the same name. There was the Alpina B12 based on the four-door BMW 7 Series sedan, and there was the Alpina B12 Coupe built on the 8 Series. The B12 Coupe was a proper upper-class GT. Fast, comfortable… with a touch of luxury. It was created to satisfy customers for whom an ordinary BMW simply wasn’t enough. By turning to Alpina, they could feel a certain sense of exclusivity, while still retaining the advanced engineering of these German machines and their remarkable driving characteristics – AND they could even feel an improvement over the standard 8 Series.

The 8 Series was introduced in 1990 as the successor to the BMW E24 6 Series. It was not a pure sports car, but rather a large GT powered by either a V8 or a V12. The 850i served as the basis for the Alpina B12 5.0, but when BMW Motorsport unveiled its 850CSi, it turned out to be so good that Alpina chose that very car as the foundation for building the B12 5.7 Coupe.

The Alpina Coupe was available exclusively as a V12, and it had an incredibly difficult task ahead of it, as very serious competition was waiting both on a domestic market and abroad. It had to exist in the world where there was the Porsche 928 – and from 1992 onward, also in GTS form, with a larger V8 smoothly delivering at least 350 cheerful horses. 5.5 seconds to 100 km/h was still slower than I take my whiskey, but already dangerously close to the Testarossa of that era (the 512 TR did it in 5.0 seconds). And Porsche, after all, was a 2+2 GT – not a supercar. So in terms of performance, the rivalry was fierce.

And when it comes to prestige… there was also something like the Mercedes 600 SEC roaming the German autobahns. This was the coupe variant of the S-Klasse – of the third generation, coded W140 (C140 for the Coupe) – and by that point it already had a 6.0-liter V12 making 400 horsepower (or nearly 400, depending on the facelift). So the driver of something like that really had no right to complain about mid-range acceleration. And when it comes to ride comfort and equipment, I only have two words to say: S-Class. Thank you for your time. Any questions?

You could say that Gran Turismo is a very tightly defined niche, but even on that shelf there is plenty of room for reshuffling. The competition was highly varied: the performance-focused Porsche, the luxurious Mercedes, and the well-balanced Jaguar. Each of them was a natural rival to BMW, and Alpina had to be better than ALL OF THEM. That is why it introduced its own alternative to the 8 Series – more exclusive, and loaded enough to provide the driver with sensations unmatched by any competition.

Alpina made changes to the car’s aesthetics, but also carried out mechanical modifications to underline its dominance in performance. The architecture of the E31 8 Series was a very good base to work with. The BMW 850i was an exceptionally well-thought-out car (and I will likely show it myself before long), which meant Alpina already had a lot to gain from the very start.

It certainly looked the part, because BMW had given it sleek, aerodynamic lines, though naturally it did not go without Alpina touches both outside and inside the car. The E31 was fitted with some clever suspension with Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs. So at that point it had both the comfort and the driving dynamics, because the E31 delivered the ideal balance – while also leaving its rivals behind in that regard.

It had to be powered somehow, too – and what sat at the base was BMW’s 5.0-liter V12. It had an aluminum-alloy block and made somewhere in the region of 300 horsepower. Alpina made their changes first raising the output to 350 horsepower, and later increasing displacement to 5.7 liters (410 hp).

It was essentially a ‚double straight-six,’ as it had two distributors, a set of ignition leads for each bank of six cylinders, and a twin air-filter setup of the kind you would normally associate with that layout. The crankcase had been designed specifically with a V12 in mind, but the block itself, the crankshaft, the connecting rods, and all the manifolds remained unchanged. The pistons were thrown out and replaced with ones of higher compression, enlarged intake valves were fitted – they lifted higher and with more aggressive timing – and Bosch ECU control was added as well. Aside from the manifolds, the entire stainless-steel exhaust system was completely new.

The gearbox remained the same 4-speed automatic as in the 5.0-liter BMW, but Alpina reworked its programming so it could fully exploit the car’s new capabilities. Later on (for the 5.7), there was a 6-speed manual Getrag, as well as ShiftTronic with an electronically controlled clutch. This is the only Alpina ever offered with such system.

Inside, there were bespoke made-to-order elements, special color options, and unique upholstery – beyond everything you could already get in the most expensive BMW E31s. Alpina drivers had their own seats and different interior trim than in a standard BMW. From the outside, the car differed only in the details.

Depending on the version, the car could accelerate from 0 to 60 in 5.5 to 6.4 seconds and reach as much as 174-186 mph. Even the 5.0-liter V12 variant was one of the fastest GT cars of its time. The B12 was something magnificent. It combined colossal, supercar-worthy power – but delivered it in a smooth manner – with the refinement of a luxury limousine.

The suspension modifications ensured excellent handling, while the might of the V12 delivered effortless acceleration and exciting sound sensations coming from the exhaust. The regular BMW 8 Series was already a magnificent GT, but the B12 stood above all of them in terms of technology and class equipment. The car remained stable at any speed, inspired confidence in the corners, and braked hard. All of that had to amplify the sense of certainty behind the wheel.

It was a strong entry into the fast GT market. The press fell in love with the car immediately. It hardly had any flaws, while the list of advantages seemed endless. It was a serious contender in this segment right from the start, because it combined Alpina’s craftsmanship with BMW’s underlying architecture.

Machine was prime and price for it was prime – but there was never a shortage of buyers for this car. Even its rivals had to give the Germans their due. People began to recognize the strength of this market segment, and before long, new large coupes would appear, all competing in performance, refinement, and exclusivity. In a way, Alpina opened everyone’s eyes to the true value of this corner of the industry.

The Alpina B12 E31 Coupe is now a true icon of the 1990s, and one of the better – yet also rarer – classics of the era. It stands as a symbol of Alpina’s peak achievements and of their collaboration with BMW. The finest blend of comfort and luxury with performance and emotion – sharpened with a touch of exclusivity. In seven years, fewer than 200 examples of both versions of this model were built. Today, it is a real prize for collectors, available only for very serious money.

Krzysztof Wilk
All sources: it was a text retrieved from my lost webpage – sources will need to be filled later