Cyan Racing reveals shock Volvo P1800 restomod

Volvo's Cyan Racing has shocked car fans by updating its original P1800 coupe for 2020 with improvements to its engine, aero and chassis thanks to engineering tricks and technology accrued from competing in the World Touring Car Championship.

Developed to "take the best from the golden sixties and combine it with our capabilities of today", the P1800 Cyan transformation was carried out solely by Cyan Racing, the team formerly known as Polestar.

Starting with a completely standard 1964 P1800, Cyan's team of talented designers and engineers began their epic task of improving the stylish but slow P1800 by boosting the rigidity of the 1960s coupe's chassis.

This involved reinforcing the existing structure with high-strength steel and carbon-fibre using a triangulation technique.

Despite being significantly stronger, thanks to a mix of exotic new materials, Cyan says it managed to keep weight down to just 990kg – a weight lighter than most small hatchbacks.

The race team admits a pure-electric powertrain was considered but ultimately ruled out as it was judged not to suit the pure yet refined driving experience engineers were trying to retain.

Instead, a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder was sourced from the world championship-winning Volvo S60 T1 race car.

Claimed to deliver a driving experience equivalent to a larger naturally aspirated engine, the small turbo-four pumps out a punchy 308kW of power and 455Nm of torque and is combined with a five-speed Hollinger dog-leg manual gearbox.

Cyan has not quoted how quick the P1800 Cyan is, but factor in its feather-light kerb weight and a 0-100km/h time of around five seconds is realistic, raising the P1800 performance to similar levels as the Ferrari 250 GTO that comprehensively outgunned it back in the 1960s.

To cope with that power (remember the P1800 started life with just 75kW), designers and engineers worked closely to widen the track and modify the body to accommodate the larger set of wheels and brakes needed.

So extensive were the changes that the top half of the body was subtly repositioned.

Beneath its modified skin, the changes extended to junking the old car's live axle and replacing it with a bespoke Cyan-designed multi-link independent set-up.

This helped package a limited-slip Hollinger differential, boosting traction further.

Improving handling, the P1800 Cyan features fully adjustable front and rear suspension that incorporates weight-saving aluminium uprights and double wishbones, plus two-way adjustable dampers.

To rein in its newfound performance, the Swedish race team, which previously fielded a V8 Supercars entry with Garry Rogers Motorsport, developed new four-piston brake callipers that clamp down on large 362mm front discs.

Completing the engineering updates, Cyan added a set of 18-inch forged rims shod with Pirelli P Zero 235/40 tyres at the front and 265/35s at the rear.

Perhaps at odds with its parent company's safety heritage, stability control, anti-lock brakes and even a brake servo were all ruled out over fears they might dilute the connection between car and driver.

Finally, the born-again P1800 proudly sports the Cyan Racing or Polestar blue and yellow paint that adorns all of the Swedish team's race cars.

The result, says Cyan's head of engineer Mattias Evenson, is a car that "delivers on the Cyan engineering philosophy in terms of predictability and intuitive driver control, yet keeping the light-weight, analogue driving experience of the 1960s".

To help fine-tune its handling the race team drafted in Thed Bjork, who won the 2017 touring car world championship with Cyan Racing.

Instead of creating an outright race car, Bjork and Cyan say they've created a car that's not focused on lap times but blends millimetre precision with an enjoyable and exciting driving experience.

Perhaps the most astonishing part of the P1800 Cyan is it's not a one-off vanity project.

If there's demand, Cyan says it will make a limited-run of the reborn Volvo coupe, but it won't be cheap.

Given the attention to detail and expensive engineering that has gone into its creation, we expect a price tag that could nudge a million dollars after local taxes if it ever ventures Down Under.