Look at this amazing old Volvo

By topgear, 09 April 2019
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Welcome to a Volvo you might never have heard of before. Owned and driven by Gustaf Larson - one of the company’s founders - this 1935 PV36 will be front and centre on Volvo’s stand at this week’s Techno Classica show in Essen, Germany.

The “Art Deco” style is down to designer and engineer Ivar Örnberg, who worked in the US for a few years before returning to Sweden in the early Thirties and penning the PV36.

Volvo only built 500 of the car nicknamed “Carioca” - supposedly for a popular Latin American dance - between 1935 and 1938. This one - chassis number 85 - Larson owned from new and kept for three years. Save for the paintwork, it’s entirely original.

Supposedly the first Volvo with independent front suspension, the PV36 was made entirely from steel. Inside was space for six, while under the bonnet was a 3.7-litre six-cylinder engine mated to a three-speed manual transmission. Good for 80bhp and a top speed of 75mph.

Also on Volvo’s stand in Essen will be a 1929 PV4, a 1966 Amazon, a 1969 164, a 1981 240 Turbo and a 1995 850 T5-R. We’ll take them all, thanks.