What TV series helped make the Volvo P1800 famous?

The TV series The Saint helped make the Volvo P1800 famous. In the British series, Roger Moore played Simon Templar, who drove a white Volvo P1800 with the registration ST1.

The Saint ran from 1962 to 1969, giving the recently introduced Swedish coupe prominent international exposure. Volvo had positioned the P1800 as a stylish touring car rather than an all-out sports car, and the show connected its elegant shape with Templar’s sophisticated, globe-trotting image.

The P1800’s styling was created by Pelle Petterson under the supervision of Pietro Frua, while its mechanical components were related to Volvo’s Amazon, or 122 series. The television association is sometimes confused with the later 1800S and 1800ES variants, but the original screen car was a P1800. The model also became famous for exceptional durability: Irv Gordon’s Volvo 1800 eventually exceeded 3.25 million miles in original-owner use.