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).
