The
Saint's Volvo P1800 - As handsome playboy,
adventurer Simon Templar (Roger Moore) traveled about the
European continent on THE SAINT/SYN/NBC/1963-69, he drove a
white Volvo P1800 sports coupe with the license plate ST-1.
The Volvo Corporation supplied the producers of THE SAINT TV
series with five P1800 models for use on their show. They
included a 1962 model (Reg. # 71 DXC); a 1964 model (Reg. # 77
GYL); and two 1967 models (Reg. # NUV 647E used for Roger
Moore's personal use); and Reg. # NUV 648E used for filming).
One of the five cars crashed soon after arriving and was
cannibalized to update the 1964 model. On the revival series
THE RETURN OF THE SAINT/CBS/1979-80 Simon Templar (played by
Ian Ogilvy) drove a white XJ-S Jaguar automobile. In 1996 a
red Volvo C70 sports coupe, designed/styled by Peter Horbury
with sloping 'V' hoodline and rakish rear window borrowed from
the P1800s series debuted in the move The Saint (1996)
starring Val Kilmer. Those interested in more information on
the Volvo 1800 can read the book Swedish Iron By Bill
L. Webb; or contact The Volvo Sports America auto club
(founded in 1976) at 1203 West Cheltenham Avenue Melrose Park,
PA 19027. The club's purpose is to encourage the ownership,
preservation, and restoration of all Volvo 1800 sports coupes.
In addition, the "Cars of the Stars" museum in Keswick,
England has the official 1964 'Saint' car (Reg. # 77-GYL) on
display. It is fully restored with a giant Saint logo on the
hood. The Corgi Toy company of Great Britain also produced a
model of the Volvo P1800 in 1966 (Model No. 258 "The Saint"
car) with a Saint logo on the hood. TRIVIA NOTE: In the Saint
books written by Leslie Charteris, Simon Templar actually
drove a fictional automobile called the "Hirondel." Various
artistic renderings of what the Hirondel looked like were
presented in First Quarter 1972 issue of Automobile
Quarterly (volume 10, number 1).