Celebrating P1800’s 50th anniversary, Volvo’s design chief decided to pen a modern-day version of the legendary car as a tribute.

The P1800 is probably the most un-Volvo-ish Volvo by today’s standards. Back in the 50s and 60s though it was a fabulous sports coupe with a glorious body designed by the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Pietro Frua. It was like a Scandinavian Mustang.

These renderings by Chris Benjamin try to mix the P1800’s traditional cues with modern design elements. The profile of the car remain basically the same, with a long bonnet and short overhangs, an so do the body lines and the pillars. The front and rear-end design however are completely new and inspired by Volvo’s current design language.

Volvo could, and should, build a new P1800. There’s definitely a market for it. But at this time there is no plans for it.