Volvo does not build many cars like the Volvo PV 60: a 4-door saloon with 3670 cc ED I6, built from 1946 to 1950 in a decade split by war, when civilian production stopped and restarted. Its designer of record is Gustaf Larson.
The story
The Volvo PV60 is an automobile manufactured by Volvo between 1946 and 1950. It was the first car produced by the Swedish company after the end of the Second World War.
The development of the PV60 had started in 1939 and the car was introduced to the public alongside the smaller PV444 in September 1944. It was originally intended to be introduced in 1940, but it was delayed by the war. The large car was powered by a 3,670 cc (3.7 L; 224.0 cu in) inline 6 that produced 90 hp (67 kW). It was attached to a column-shifted three-speed manual transmission. The vehicle had a wheelbase of 2,850 mm (112.2 in) and a length of 4,725 mm (186.0 in). While the sales brochure described it as "en linjeren vagn i europeisk stil" (a clean line coach in European style), it bore a strong resemblance to a 1939 Pontiac, with the front being almost impossible to tell from the original. However, the Volvo was 10 cm shorter than the smallest Pontiac. Production did not start until December 1946, and the majority of the cars were built in 1949 and 1950. In total, there were 3506 PV60s produced, about 500 of which were built into trucks or vans as PV 61. The smaller PV444 was more suited for the post-war economy and production of the PV60 halted in 1950. From that point on, the largest model in Volvo's range and the one most similar in size to the PV 60 was the Volvo PV800 Series taxi, which in 1950 would see a version intended for personal use, the Disponent, started being built. It would take almost two decades until Volvo introduced another upmarket six-cylinder car, the 164.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 3670 cc ED I6. Kerb weight is 1630 kg. The gearbox is a 3-speed manual with optional overdrive. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2850 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in Volvo's history is not in doubt: the Volvo PV51 came before it; the Volvo Disponent followed it; it was built at Lundby, Gothenburg, Sweden. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Porsche 356, the Citroën 2CV, the Chevrolet Bel Air. Nearby in the Volvo catalogue sit the Volvo 144 and the Volvo 264 TE.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Volvo PV 60 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.