An extremely beautiful Volvo 121 S Amazon four-door sedan, seen in the great city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province in 2016. I met this great Swedish motor in a Volvo dealer owned by the Sanhe Group. This company operates dozens of car dealers in the Chengdu area, and they also have a museum with a PV544 and a large classic-car restoration shop.
The Amazon was not sold in China in period and as far as I know this is the only one in the country. Sanhe shipped it in from Sweden in 2014 and it has since been on display at the dealer and on several local autoshows.
I have always loved the Amazon. When I was young my parents first had an Amazon station wagon and then an Amazon 2-door sedan. Sadly, most of my memories are about them breaking down and us waiting for assistance on the side of the road. When I was 12 the 2-door was sold and replaced by a Volvo 240, which was still in production at the time. The love of Volvo has always remained and my daily driver now is a Volvo V40 T3 Cross Country.
Period correct Dunlop tires!
The Volvo Amazon was manufactured from 1956 until 1970. The 122 S was a sports model, powered by the famous B18B, a 100 hp 1.8 liter dual-carburetor four-cylinder petrol engine. Gearbox was a four-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic (as on this car).
The Amazon at Sanhe was in perfect condition and the paint looked factory fresh. Nearby the Volvo dealer is Sanhe’s restoration operation where they have a very professional paint shop. I actually saw the Amazon there a year earlier, so I think it got a ‘Chinese respray’:
The Amazon in front of the paint shop, standing next to a Volvo C70 convertible, which is a rather rare car as well.
The bench and the column-mounted gear lever indicate this was originally a U.S. market car. Many U.S. cars have since been shipped back to Europe because they are usually maintained very well. The ones from California are most popular as they are basically rust free. So perhaps this red Volvo went from Sweden to America, back to Sweden, and finally to China.
Having a fuel cap just above the rear bumper was not considered dangerous in 1956, not even by Volvo.
Note the Aston Martin logo on the fence. Sanhe is selling those too.
A proud and pretty badge.
Outside stood a Volvo S90 T6 AWD. The S90 had just been unveiled at the time, a process where I played a small but not insignificant role. This is an imported car from Sweden, the China-made S90L hadn’t been launched yet.
The S90 T6 is powered by a turbo- and supercharged 2.0 four-cylinder, good for 320 hp and 400 Nm. Power goes to all wheels via an 8-speed automatic.
A little further a found this pristine Volvo S80 T6. The original pre-facelift T6 was powered by a 2.8 liter twin-turbo straight-six, good for 272 hp and 280 Nm. The engine was transversely mounted and mated to a 5-speed automatic, sending all horses to the front wheels.
And just to make the story complete: a black Volvo S90 2.5 sedan that I met during an earlier visit to the same dealer. The S90 is very rare too. It was based on the 960 and only made from 1996 to 1998.
The 2.5 model was powered by a 2.5 liter six-in-line, good for 170 hp and 230 Nm. The engine mated to a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic (as in this car), sending horses to the rear wheels.
So much Swedish metal in Chengdu. It was a great Volvo day.
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