The Autoforma Norrsken P1800 ES: A Modern Revival of Sweden’s Elegant Estate Car

When people think of Volvo estate cars, the image that generally comes to mind is of the large, practical yet somewhat unexciting models of the 80s and 90s. However, there was a time when Volvo manufactured an elegant, cool estate car known as the P1800 ES. A graceful variant of the curvy P1800 sports cars, it was the sleek face of Volvo in a past era. Now, Autoforma, Niels de Roij and Volvo Lotte, all hailing from the Netherlands, revive the 50-year-old model in a fresh, attractive and even cooler version - the Norrsken P1800 ES.

The original P1800 ES model, an estate version of the P1800 sports coupe introduced in 1961, saw the light of day in 1972. The similarity between the coupe and estate extends from the front up to the B-pillar after which they diverge. The estate, instead of adopting the proposed futuristic designs of Sergio Coggiola and Pietro Frua, embraced the Beach Car concept crafted by Volvo’s own designer, Jan Wilsgaard.

After the revamp, the car maintained its original mechanical composition, with minor adjustments like swapping the four-speed with an overdrive transmission of the P1800 coupe with a three-speed automatic by Borg-Warner. The signature styling element of the P1800 ES was its all-glass tailgate, which later also appeared in newer Volvo models like the 480 and C30. Now, through the Autoforma Norrsken P1800 ES, this classic estate car with its distinguishing features has once again hit the roads, proving that elegance never goes out of style.