Stunning Volvo P1800 Cyan shows off classy cabin

Volvo's former motorsport partner, Cyan Racing, has released new pictures of its Volvo P1800 Cyan, revealing the heavily reworked retromod's interior for the first time.

Despite looking like a refurbished version of the standard coupe's cabin, everything you see, or touch, within the P1800 Cyan is new.

The period-looking dials, toggle switches, gear lever, steering wheel and pedals... nothing is carried over from the early 1960s Volvo made famous by in The Saint TV series.

"We have focused on creating an interior that reflects the car decor of the '60s in a modern version. We have kept the clean and driver-oriented interior of the original car, carefully moving it forward with modern materials and technology," said Ola Granlund, head of design at Cyan Racing.

Highlights of the cabin include the leather-wrapped motorsport-spec titanium roll cage, period-looking bucket seats and the stock-looking dials that now feature the race team's trademark cyan blue paint within the middle.

Sticking to the theme of taking the "best from the golden '60s and combine it with our capabilities of today", Cyan Racing has already revealed that the P1800 Cyan's development began by significantly beefing up the existing structure of a P1800 using high-strength steel and carbon-fibre.

Using techniques employed in the creation of racers like the team's current Lynk & Co 03 WTCC racer, Cyan says it managed to keep weight down to just 990kg – lighter than most small hatchbacks.

Initially, considering its links to Polestar (Cyan used to race under that name), a pure-electric powertrain was considered but ultimately ruled out as it didn't fit the theme of the car.

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 the engine output and feather-light kerb weight suggest 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.

Beneath its modified skin, the changes extended to junking the old car’s live axle and replacing it with a bespoke Cyan-designed multilink 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 new-found 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.

Helping hone its handling, Cyan Racing drafted in Thed Bjork, who won the 2017 touring car world championship with the Swedish team.

Crucially, instead of developing a racer for the road, Bjork and Cyan's engineers say they've created a true driver's car that blends millimetre precision with an enjoyable and exciting driving experience.

Cyan Racing says it will build its Volvo P1800 Cyan retromod at its Gothenburg HQ in limited numbers, with each car thought to cost owners around $500,000 ($A700,000) to commission.