Volvo 164 – 1960s Prestige Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
While other parts of the world were in a state of upheaval in 1968, revolution was far from people ́s minds at Volvo in Gothenburg, Sweden. Instead, they were focusing on the launch of the new prestige model, the 164.
The notion of designing a slightly larger, more exclusive model had existed for a long time. In the late 1950s, a big luxurious Volvo with a V8 engine and a powerful, vertical grille was planned. However, this project died a death in 1960 when a survey indicated that compact cars were the future, especially in the US.
But the launch of the 140 series in 1966 gave rise to the idea of placing a straightsix engine in the 140 body. That would allow Volvo to create the combination of prestige and compact size they were absolutely certain people needed.
Chief Designer Jan Wilsgaard kept the chassis of the 140 series and used the front from the 1950s 358 project.
Here, the iron mark logo once again took on a prominent position, placed on the diagonal in the same way as on the first Volvo back in 1927 – and as we see on today’s models.
The 140 chassis was also extended by 10 cm from the windscreen forward. This latter measure was needed in order to make space for the newly developed straightsix. This was designated B30, had a 3litre capacity and developed 145 hp thanks to twin ZenithStromberg carburettors.