After originally debuting in Europe in 2020, the Volvo P1800 Cyan will debut in the United States at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, on August 9 during Monterey Car Week. Cyan Racing will begin taking orders for the restomod from customers in the US, and prices will start at $700,000.
The P1800 originally debuted in 1960 and production lasted into the early '70s. Cyan Racing decided to build this restomod by imagining how it would have modified the car for racing in the '60s but using technology from today.
Gallery: Volvo P1800 Cyan In The United States
Power for the P1800 Cyan comes from a version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 420 horsepower (313 kilowatts) and 336 pound-feet (456 Newton-meters). The powerplant has a redline at 7,700 revs. A version of this mill is in the Volvo S60 TC1 race car.
The restomod uses a five-speed Holinger manual transmission with a dog-leg first gear position. Holinger also supplies the limited-slip rear differential.
Cyan Racing overhauls nearly every part of the P1800. Only the steel in the original chassis, hood release mechanism, handbrake, and windshield wipers remain. For added rigidity, the underpinnings have additional high-strength steel. The carbon-fiber body panels join to the structure with adhesive, which makes the pieces a structural element of the vehicle. The result is a machine that weighs 2,183 pounds (990 kilograms).
Gallery: Volvo P1800 Cyan
The body has enlarged wheel wells and a wider track to accommodate the 18-inch wheels. The company also pushes back the greenhouse versus the original, which makes the hood longer.
The suspension also receives quite a few changes. The original live rear axle is gone, and an independent setup of Cyan's own design replaces it. There's an adjustable double-wishbone setup at both ends, and owners can tweak compression and rebound for the dampers at all four corners. The rear anti-roll bar had adjustable stiffness.
Cyan Racing wants drivers of its P1800 to have a direct connection to the road. To make this happen, there's no stability control, anti-lock brakes, or even a brake booster.
Cyan Racing has its roots in Polestar before Volvo's acquisition of the brand. Cyan is a fully independent organization from the automaker and focuses on motorsports. "Our company was founded in 1996 to race Volvos in Sweden and the Volvo P1800 Cyan is closing the circle for us," said Christian Dahl, CEO and founder of Cyan Racing.
While all the pictures of the P1800 Cyan show it in the brand's custom shade of blue, the company plans to show it in a different shade when displaying the car at The Quail.
