We talked recently about the unique story Mercdes-Benz 300 SEL 6,3 made at Pininfarina also about the BMW that was made by Frua. By the way, two have been made, of which 50% of the production has now been saved. And then there was also the Volvo who left Zagato… the Volvo GTZ 3000.
Motauto, the local Volvo importer, was located in Italy
And because it is very exciting for Italians to be busy with sound, sensible things, the men from Motauto thought that the world, or at least Italy, was waiting for a really sporty, fast Volvo. Because with this Volvo GTZ 3000 Volvo could compete with brands like Alfa Romeo and Lancia. The Swedes did not really see the need for it. They had never even considered that approach. The P1800 was sporty enough for them. In addition, the Swedes had reservations about linking their reputation to Italian sheet metal.
The Italians were convinced that they were right
To show the Swedes that they were wrong, Motauto teamed up with Fissore to redesign the P1800. The two-liter Volvo sports fan was a beautiful thing. According to the proud Italians, a fantastic car. A potential sales hit. Meanwhile, the P1800 still sold nicely and the Swedes didn't like the Swedish bastard.
At Motauto they had a hard time with the decision of their parent company. So in 1969 Motauto commissioned Zagato to design a replacement for the P1800: the Volvo GTZ 3000. The car was presented at the salon in Turin and the Volvo men shook their heads wisely again. Maybe if it hadn't had a two-litre four in-line, but a six-cylinder? At least: the Italians got the idea that that was where the opportunities lay? Motauto went to Zagato again to ask if they wanted to model a fast Volvo on the chassis of a Volvo 164. And it was presented at the Turin auto show in 1970. We would later see the headlight cover on the Alfa Montreal. The grille was the link with the Volvo 164. The public reacted positively to the sporty Volvo. And the factory? He thought it was a pointless exercise. Motauto dropped out with its tail between its legs.
In Italy, it's more about emotions and rumors than facts
That is why the story goes that 50 copies of the Volvo GTZ 3000 were made. At Volvo they keep it to this day that one copy has been made. That car would have been sold to a private individual. And that owner would have had a serious collision with it. After that, the badly damaged car would have ended up with a Swedish collector decades later. In 2008, photos of the disassembled Volvo appeared on a Alfa Romeo forum. The suggestion was that the car was still waiting for restoration in Sweden. Then there was a deafening silence…
The original model with the four-cylinder two-liter engine was sold directly to an enthusiast at the car show. And then there has never been heard of.
Whether we will ever see these uniqueness again in real life?
We shall see…
Maybe also interesting to read?
Put this next to an Iso Rivolta Lele.
50 Bonus points for this suggestion
As far as I am concerned, could still be model! Missed opportunity for Volvo. Perhaps with some post-development work they could have made it a worthy P1800 successor. 🤔
Recently heard a gloomy midlife cruiser talk about missed opportunities. It's a kind of virus ...