Seeing vintage cars presented at the first Volvo car museum in Russia is a great option for a family cultural trip during the holidays. The Volvo Retro Museum, based on the site of the official dealer Svid-Mobil, unites those who are not indifferent to the legendary Swedish brand. A group of dedicated and passionate people preserve, restore and exhibit vintage Volvo cars.
The exposition, reflecting the various milestones of the 90-year history of the legendary Swedish brand Volvo, includes seven iconic models: PV444, Amazon, P1800, 242, 244, 960 Royal and S80.
It all started in 1999 with the restoration of the sedan Volvo Amazon— it was Svid-Mobil's first attempt at restoring classic Volvos. The elegant design of the Volvo Amazon in the 50s turned the idea of \u200b\u200bthe company's models and became the first car to be produced outside of Sweden, in Halifax, Canada.
Speaking about the creation of the retro museum, Fedor Fenster, one of the founders of the Svid-Mobil company, tells how its first exhibit was found: “We found Amazon on the street. He was in a terrible state, literally rooted to the ground! As it turned out, some sailor brought it to Russia and abandoned it - the car withered ... We bargained with him for a long time - as a result, Amazon became ours, and we enthusiastically set about restoring it.
Then the exclusive sports car was restored Volvo P1800 1967 release. “We found the iconic R1800 coupe in Bryansk. When the car was dismantled, they found Japanese money under the mat and concluded that this Volvo came to Russia from Japan,” says the founder of Svid-Mobil about the revival of this model. The Volvo P1800 was made famous by the 1960s television series The Saint, in which Roger Moore, who played Simon Templar, drove around in a white P1800.
Another iconic exhibit Volvo PV444 released in 1956. The Volvo PV444 was Volvo's first mass production model. The decision to produce small fuel-efficient cars was due to resource constraints during World War II. As a symbol of hope for peace and better times, at the big exhibition in Stockholm in September 1944, Volvo introduced the PV444.
The appearance of the 444 reflected the influence of American style: it was the first Volvo car to have a one-piece body without a separate frame. It was also equipped with a specially coated windshield, which at that time was a great achievement in the field of safety. The PV444 was the first in Volvo's history to have a 4-cylinder engine. The interest in this model was huge, and the originally planned production of 8,000 cars was adjusted to almost 200,000!
The next exhibit in the museum is Volvo 244 1985 release. Cars of this series have become revered classics even "during their lifetime", on the assembly line. Very widely this car was used by athletes. He has many victories in both rally and road racing. Answering the question “Are they good at making cars in Sweden?”, An experienced motorist with experience will certainly remember the famous 240 series, the strength and reliability of which have become a legend.
A special pride in the Svid-Mobil collection is a retro-mobile Volvo 960 Royal 1997 release. 960 Royal was chosen for themselves by the Danish Queen Margaret and the Royal Court of Denmark, as well as high-ranking politicians in St. Petersburg in the 90s. There were two unique cars in the Royal version in the Smolny park.
In line for restoration and presentation to the public are the exclusive Volvo 780 Bertone coupe, in Russia there are no more than five copies, and the massive C70 coupe. And in the dreams of the creators of the retro museum - the revival of the rarest Volvo 262 Bertone and Volvo Duett, the prototype of large station wagons, with which Volvo is associated all over the world.
Visitors to the exposition can also see a cross-section of the Volvo S80: a car with partially dismantled body panels provides an opportunity to look into the soul of a four-wheeled Swede and see directly all the technical aspects of the car's equipment and security system.
The Volvo Retro Museum is located on the territory of the Svid-Mobil dealership at the address: Marshal Zhukov Ave., 25/1.
A visit to the museum is a great opportunity to learn about the history of the famous Swedish brand, compare retro exhibits and the latest Volvo models, for example, with the updated 90 series, equipped with new safety and comfort features: the City Safery system always warns of danger and helps to avoid a collision , recognizes pedestrians, cyclists and large animals; Volvo On Call lets you control your car remotely via your smartphone, from preheating the car to creating a Wi-Fi hotspot. Once inside, you will also appreciate the unrivaled comfort and perfection in every detail.
Now cars of this series are subject to special New Year's purchase conditions,.
- Adult ticket - 90 kroons or about 750 rubles
- Children and youth from 4 to 19 years old - 50 kroons
- Children under 4 years old - free of charge
- Elderly people - 75 crowns (age, interestingly, not specified)
- Family ticket for two adults and several children - 250 CZK
- Family ticket for one adult and several children - 160 kroons
- Group tickets are calculated individually
When does it work?
Fortunately, the schedule of the Saab Museum is much simpler than that of the Volvo Museum. On all days except Mondays, the museum is open from 11 to 4, and the holidays when it is closed at all are December 22-26 and 31, January 1, and June 24-25.
How to get there?
The road to the province of Västergötland, where Gothenburg and Trollhättan are located, is an adventure in itself. First you need, of course, to get out of the Russian Federation, and the easiest way to do this is through St. Petersburg and the Scandinavia highway. Then you have a choice of three border crossings - Torfyanovka, Brusnichnoye and Svetogorsk. Since we are heading to Sweden, by default we choose the westernmost one - Torfyanovka. However, if there is too long a line, then it is worth considering whether it makes sense to make a detour and go through other crossings. Fortunately, there are several monitoring services at once - just type in "monitoring the Finnish border" into Yandex / Google and you will find what you are looking for. Already in Finland, we continue to move to Helsinki along the E18 highway, or, in a local way, No. 7. Just in case, we clarify that the track is free. Viking Line ferries run from Helsinki to Stockholm, where you can also transport your car.
Was part of our three-day trip Stockholm-Gothenburg-Stockholm, with which we are already. Today's story is dedicated only to the museum. Here you will find not only photos of cars with detailed descriptions, but interesting facts about Volvo and its developments. General information can be found on the museum website: http://www.volvomuseum.com/ . Tickets cost from 25 kroons for children to 100 kroons for adults.
History of Volvo
The first showroom is dedicated to the history of Volvo. It briefly tells about the creation of the plant, as well as a huge poster with the main stages of the company's development.
A company called Volvo (the Latin word "volvere" - "I roll") was registered in 1915 as part of the Swedish company "SKF", which produced bearing products. Volvo remained dormant until 1926 when sales manager Gastaf Larson and engineer Assar Gabrielsson from the Royal Institute of Technology (where I am currently researching ) joined the company. 
The first production model of the ÖV4 car, produced at the factory on April 14, 1927. The first pancake, as you know, was lumpy: at startup, it turned out that the car could only move backwards due to an incorrectly installed transmission. 
In technical and design terms, the first Volvo was a typical American car: with an open body with five seats and four doors. However, this design was not suitable for the bleak Scandinavian climate and sales were lower than expected. Therefore, soon Volvo began to produce a closed model ÖV4. The price of the car was 4,800 crowns, or 18 monthly wages for an industrial worker. The ÖV4 had a 1.94 liter four-cylinder engine and 28 horsepower. 
The first Volvo LV40 truck was built in 1928, followed by the first Volvo LV4 bus. Both were built around the PV4 chassis. 
Volvo cars
On the second floor, you will get acquainted with other models, from 1929 to modern ones. There are so many cars in the museum that even a quarter of them cannot be shown in this post, so I will try to outline the main milestones and interesting facts.
Volvo's first six-cylinder engine was introduced in 1929 and installed in the PV651. The high roof of this model allowed gentlemen to keep their hats on. Later, in some luxury models, additional equipment became possible - air conditioning. This is how Volvo took the first step towards customer convenience. Models PV651 - PV654, made in 1929-1934. 
The Volvo PV36 "Carioca" (1935) had independent wishbone front suspension, modern styling and an 80 hp engine. and 3670 cu. see Only 500 models were produced in total. 
Models PV51-56 of the second half of the 30s were used in the armed forces and worked on gas. Pictured is a Volvo PV52 (1937). 
In 1944, Volvo introduced the new PV 444 with a more efficient 1414 cc 4-cylinder engine. cm and 44 hp Planned production of 8,000 vehicles increased to almost 200,000 before the PV 544 was replaced by the PV 444. 
After World War II, Volvo returned to luxury. This PV61 was built in Stockholm in 1949. 
Volvo's first sports car was the P1900 (1954), a two-seat roadster with leather interior and fiberglass body. 1.4 liter engine with 70 hp allowed to accelerate to 175 km / h. In 1954-1957, only 67 of these cars were produced. 
Another roadster, the P1800, was produced from 1961–1972. The car in the photo belonged to the CEO of Volvo. Therefore, it is painted in a special color called "Engellau blue" and also personalized, for example, with a silver gear knob. 
PV544 (1958-1966) was the new version of PV444 I mentioned earlier. The main innovation was that the buyer could choose a complete set of gearbox and engine. A sports version was also available. 
Some of you may have seen this Volvo 144 (1966-1974) in real life. This is the first car that since 1973 has been equipped with reinforced bumpers. At that time, Volvo did a lot of safety research, which I will talk about later. 
This Volvo 66 (1975–1978) is interesting because it's not a Volvo at all. In fact, this is the Dutch DAF, which was bought by Volvo. In addition, the engine displacement was quite small: 1.1 and 1.2 liters. 
The 240 Volvo (1974–1993) became a classic. In total, more than 2.8 million 240/260 series were built. 
Volvo 262C (1977–1981). This is a car with an easily recognizable Volvo design. In addition, there were luxury developments for that time: an automatic transmission, power steering and electric rear-view mirrors. Later, the Volvo 265 (1975–1985), based on the 262, made the company one of the leading car manufacturers in the world. 
Volvo 440 (1988-1996) - the first model with front-wheel drive. A turbocharged model was also available. Together with other modifications of the 460 and 480, about 800,000 cars were sold. 
Of course, more modern cars are on display, such as the Volvo 760, 940, C, V, S-series, etc. However, it is worth stopping. So many cars and information that it gets a little boring. Pika was also tired and decided to rest. 
Volvo and innovation
The other side of Volvo is innovation. From early childhood, I believed that Volvo is the safest car in the world. I still remember that crash test picture from one of the TV shows. 
In the dedicated showroom, you can find a lot of material on how Volvo has worked on the safety issue and how many new features have been provided to customers for a comfortable driving experience. 
For this reason, the VESC (Volvo Experimental Safety Car) was developed in 1972. It was a laboratory filled with new technologies: automatic seat belts, a rearview camera, airbags, a folding steering column, an anti-lock system, etc. 
In 1958, Volvo's first safety engineer developed the three-point seat belt, and a year later the company became the first car manufacturer in the world to introduce such belts as standard equipment. Now you know that there is a little bit of Volvo in your car too. In addition, Volvo was the first car with side airbags. 
Sports and concept cars
A small exhibition dedicated to Volvo and sports. From the very beginning, cars participated in various competitions. This PV544 is the winner of the 13th East Africa Rally in 1965 and is still owned by the family of drivers who won the event. 
This Volvo S40 won the BTCC championship in 1998 with Rickard Rydell. 
Nearby you can find a bunch of Volvo concept cars. Philippe is Volvo's first American-style concept. The car was shown in May 1953. However, due to the high cost, only this one copy was produced. 
Some prototypes have become reality. The Volvo XC60 was first introduced as a concept in 2007, put into production a year later and has become one of the best-selling models with over a million XC60s produced to date. 
Trucks and other destinations
You probably remember that Volvo started producing trucks from the very beginning of its activity. Naturally, this part of the story did not go unnoticed. Trucks in the museum are dedicated to a separate exhibition. 
It also describes the history and technical characteristics of the machines. This item caught my attention. The frame of the car, where you can see all the nodes. 
When leaving the museum, modern cars with price tags are already presented, as well as the famous model made from Lego. Several booths are dedicated to Volvo's latest environmental developments. 
As you might have guessed, the museum is just huge. If you carefully study each exhibit, you will spend a lot of time here and most likely it will be a little tiring. So plan your time right.
The Volvo Museum is located in the industrial area of the Swedish city of Gothenburg, in the Arendal district on the island of Hisingen, about 10 km west of the city center of Gothenburg. The museum tells the story of the evolution of Volvo, Sweden's leading vehicle manufacturer, from the earliest and humblest models to today's, and even more so, future models.
One of the first exhibits that the museum visitor sees is the wooden chassis frame of an early Volvo model. The exhibits of the museum are not limited to cars, there is a tank engine made by Volvo for the needs of the Swedish army, gas turbine engines and aircraft made for the country's aerospace forces, as well as tractors and other heavy equipment. There is a lot of interest in unusual designs, such as the Tandem concept cars, rather narrow two-seater cars in which the driver sits in front of the passenger, like in a real fighter jet, or a car model designed by women specifically for women.
As for the concepts of the future, here Volvo presents to the attention of visitors models that are ahead of their time at the time of their creation, for example, the 1983 model LCP 2000. It has no visual appeal, but it has been designed to run on a variety of fuels, including pure vegetable oil.
