What to do in an extended, cold Swedish winter after the glow of winning the 2017 FIA World Touring Car Cup championship has worn off but before the next season starts? Some would possibly dog-sled under the northern lighting fixtures or plot that year’s Gävle Goat arson, however the Cyan Racing crew in Mölndal, Sweden, had a one-of-a-kind plan for offseason amusement: rewriting history. What if the classic Volvo P1800 had the performance to suit its design? The parents at Cyan (formerly Polestar Performance earlier than Volvo offered the name) have been just those to take at the assignment of making a P1800 as rapid as it’s miles pretty. The work took extra than 3 years, but Cyan ultimately delivered its completed product amid a plague. Now the P1800 Cyan has finally made it to the States. So we took it to our barren region proving grounds to get the numbers. Skål!Volvo constructed the original P1800 from 1961 through 1973, with few cosmetic adjustments for the duration of its run. Any yr of the classic coupe can form the basis of Cyan’s P1800. “Because so little of the original vehicle is used, we will start off with a donor car beyond what would commonly be seen as restorable,” says Hans Bååth, Cyan Racing general manager.
Cyan strips and sandblasts the donor car, then replaces all outdoors frame panels with carbon fiber. Only a small portion of the unique’s chassis and transmission tunnel stays. Every surface has been lightly tweaked from inventory. The complete vehicle seems smoother and lower. The cabin is ready again, or as an alternative the wheel wells are moved forward, the hood elongated, and the rear fenders shortened for much less overhang and a leaner stance.
The final product weighs 2424 kilos (a brand new P1800S weighed about 2320 kilos), with most effective forty seven.8 percent of that mass on its front axle—best for drifting in Gothenburg or, as we did, occurring a brisk 2 hundred-mile adventure over the California mountains searching for Swedish pancakes.The optionally available roll cage is titanium. It’s pretty unobtrusive until you want to tug the hand brake, which is tucked against the decrease bar. Racing buckets appearance snazzy with a 5-point harness but are available with greater padding in case you revel in being at ease.
Reflecting the understated design Scandinavia is well-known for, the P1800 Cyan’s indoors is soft grey felt and black leather. A beautifully modernized gauge cluster appears vintage, and the radio is Bluetooth well matched, so that you can cue up ABBA songs.With most modern-day powerplants hidden under plastic covers, one would not assume splendor when popping the hood anymore. This makes the Cyan’s elegantly displayed turbocharged 2.0-liter that much more lovely. Based on the race engine from the Volvo S60 TC1 car, it makes 420 horsepower and 336 pound-feet of torque. An Inconel header tucks well below the block, and a low-mass titanium-aluminide turbine wheel spins up quickly on ceramic ball bearings. Peak boost pressure is 24.7 psi. The transmission is a Holinger 5-velocity, and the narrow shifter works with the sweet click of a money-stuffed briefcase being opened in a backroom.
