So this looks like a Volvo Amazon (or 120 series) at first, right? Especially from the front, but it is actually not that simple. It is based on the frame of a lowered and shortened Volvo PV 445 commercial van. The front end is off a Volvo Amazon but the windscreen is the rear window from an Amazon and the rear window is the rear window off a Jaguar XK 150. Once you look closer, you start to see more details.
The rear end, which I personally like, is somewhat reminiscent of contemporary Maseratis and Alfa Romeos, and that is just never a bad thing. The overall vibe says Italian grand tourer to me.
The engine is a Volvo B16. And at this point I have still not got to what it really is. First let me give you a brief introduction to the man behind it, Ole Sommer. Ole Sommer (born 1932) is quite a character. He went to England to learn about car building as part of his master’s degree in automotive engineering. He is also the son of Erik Sommer whom we met in the last installment of this series. Erik Sommer died during car testing in northern Germany in 1952 but before he did, he had managed to pass on his passion for cars and car building to his son, Ole. Ole Sommer took over the family business in 1952 and started importing Jaguars and later Volvos.
An automotive engineer by trade Ole Sommer has always been interested in ways to optimize automotive technology. At this point, he has retired and he now has his own museum north of Copenhagen. That is where these photos are taken. The museum is home to quite a few beautiful exotics and is well worth a visit, if you are in the area. It is only open between 2 and 5 PM on Sunday, so plan ahead.
Our featured car was sold off when new, but he bought it back in late 1968 at quite an (undisclosed) premium.
Ole Sommer’s idea for this car was inspired by Volvo’s failed first attempt at selling a sports car to the public: the P1900, which was only made in 67 copies (the featured car is from Sommer’s museum as well). Sommer believed there was indeed a market for such a car and that it was the execution, not the concept, which was the issue, so he had a go at building one himself. Volvo apparently did not like it, and as we know, they were at this time in the final stages of developing the P1800, which was launched in 1961. Therefore, Volvo was not interested in Sommer’s proposal for a Volvo coupe, and like the S1, the Special never made into production. This is the only one ever made.
I think the Special is quite a bit better looking than the P1800 in both coupe and shooting brake configuration. I think this Danish version of a conservative Swedish car came out looking quite Italian and rather elegant.
Fascinating! I had no idea this existed (once again). Not bad looking at all.
+1. All new to me as well, thoughIm not so sure about the looks.
But full marks to Ole for getting this far.
It is a beautiful car, but looks just a touch “naked”, at least in comparison to other Volvos. It looks like it’s been “de-chromed”, needing a strip of chrome from….maybe the headlights to part way back on the door?
I like the car and particularly the roofline, but I’ll admit to always having been fascinated by the P1900 (the poor man’s Bristol 405) which is the better looking car.
’55 Powell pickup + ’59 Rambler American + ’59 Imperial = Volvo Special.
I agree, elegant indeed. I wonder who’s rear screen has been adopted for the windscreen. The greenhouse could use a bit of tumblehome but that’s being picky with hindsight. Very well done.
As it said in the first paragraph of the article, the front windscreen is the rear window of an Amazon, while the rear window is the rear window of a Jaguar XK150. If you look at the specially made windscreen surround, it has a certain angle that probably dictated the tumblehome. I.e. they couldn’t point it more inwards. That’s the problem about specials, you have to make the car work around the parts, and not the other way around. One-offs are always compromises of some sort.
It looks a bit like Belgian coachbuilder Jacques Counes convertible version of the Amazon. Quite extensively rebuilt, he built four of them in 1963/64, two of them are known to survive. It was quite a heavy rebuild, and all the work was done by hand. Reinforcements were made to the chassic, the door sills were strenghtened with a rebuilt lower door. The front wings were welded in place, and all the seams filled to make a seamless transition from front wing, sill, and rear wing.
The windscreen was modified and reinforced, and a new windowline fabricated with that swag upturn at the front of the door. The windowline is actually lowered, as the windows starts some distance above the shoulderline on the original. All the side windows were specially made, and made to be lowered into the side of the car. There was also some rework done to the rear, to make a better transition to the boot. All cars were painted white with an interior of black or red Bourdeaux leather. The work involved took about 450 hours per car.
Wow, I did not know about that one. It looks gorgeous. Thanks for the info.
verrrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting !!! Only in Sweden !!!
Erhhh, only in Denmark 🙂
I like the lines of this Volvo Special better than I do the P1800 , looks roomier in side too .
Sad only one was ever made , great to hear it’s still here .
-Nate
Wow. Can’t really judge it without a clean profile, but that coupe is very alluring. Dunno bout the top corners of the windscreen though.
The fifties/sixties was a difficult time, because the industry wasn’t always in step. There was a lot of curves in the design of the cars, but it isn’t always easy to fit a round peg in a square hole. Citroen had a similar problem with the windscreen on the DS, and a similar type of steel windscreen surround.
They wanted to achieve that floating roof impression, and had all the pillars covered in alumium or brushed steel. The impression of the greenhouse should be all glass from a distance. The example pic isn’t, but I choose it because it showed the reflections in the glass to illustrate my point. Had it been designed today, all the windows and pillars would’ve been blacked out, to ease out the transition between pillar and glass. Doing it all in shiny metal was the way of the fifties.
It’s also interesting, because the side windows of the Citroen are completely flat, and it’s just a mess trying to make them fit on all those compound curves. They angled the side windows sidewards, pointing to the B-pillar, so that the B-pillar is the widest part of the car. Considering they only had flat planes of glass to work with, I think they did a pretty good job. Especially considering the doors have frameless windows, all the windows shut against rubber seals all around. Perhaps it could be called the first colonnade hardtop?
It was just another one of those solution that wasn’t perfected at launch, and never really resolved during its long production. They wanted so much with this car, but it was always a compromise between vision and half measured result. The Germans would never have tried to make it into production without solving all those problems first.
A very fascinating “what could have been” exercise. It does have the grand tourer look especially from that rear 3/4 view, as mentioned.
Hi Mads:
Thanks for posting that article. I am also in Denmark and perhaps you might want to take a stare at the carblog I run. I was in Gotheburg recently and did a tour of the Volvo museum. The Sommer collection I wrote up for a small feature for Classic & Sportscar a few years back.