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High Society Swedish Beauty Turns 75

Original Source: http://www.wired.com
Author: Keith Barry
Original Publication Date: February 5, 2010

Volvo is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the streamlined PV36 sedan, a high-end automobile that signified a departure from Volvo’s previous indestructible, utilitarian designs. The car only sold 500 units, so for the next few decades Volvo went back to what they did best: building the automotive equivalent of James Garner.

Designed by Ivan Örnberg, the PV36 held the title of Sweden’s most curvaceous export until it was dethroned by Victoria Silvstedt. With a pressed-steel body (a company first), headlamps integrated into sleek fenders and an independent front suspension, the car was comparable in price — but not in luxury — to Packards of the day. Its 3.7-liter inline six made 80 horsepower — which was respectable for 1935, especially considering that Volvo’s iconic B230F was still turning out just 114 horses some sixty years later.

Company historians will be quick to note that the car bears a striking, yet unrelated resemblance to both the Chrysler Airflow and Raymond Loewy’s Hupmobile Aerodynamic. “Yes, Chrysler was first to put its Airflow on the market in 1934, but that does not automatically mean that Volvo copied its styling,” the company said. “That could not have worked from a timing point of view since the Volvo made its debut less than a year later. Such short leadtimes do not exist even today, and definitely not 75 years ago.”

Sadly, the world wasn’t ready for a sleek, expensive Volvo. Of the 500 sold, some ended up as police cars, many were sold to doctors and lawyers in Sweden and others were exported to Brazil. In fact, it was Volvo’s courting of the Brazilian market that gave the car its nickname “Carioca.” Designer Örnberg died suddenly a year after the car’s debut, but elements of the PV36 survived on  the more popular (and cheaper) PV51.

Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/02/volvo-pv36/#ixzz0exBZQYKy

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