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 television 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). 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).
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