Volvo 122S

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The Volvo 122S Amazon

The Volvo 122S Amazon hit the automotive market in 1956, and it was a classic example of Swedish car manufacturing quality. It was presented as a large mid-sized vehicle, designed to be the step up from the PV544 and to complete the Swedish manufacturer’s range of vehicles.

Dans l’évocation cinématographique de cette course prestigieuse, la réalité et la fiction se croisent sans cesse et les séquences réalisées à bord d’une voiture qui a réellement participé à la course apportent vraiment un réalisme incomparable à l’histoire qui est racontée à l’écran. Une impression renforcée par le fait que Steve McQueen, qui interprète le héros du film, est un pilote chevronné et talentueux.

Its original name was “Amason” (soon Englishified to Amazon) in honour of the great female warriors from Greek mythology, and it remained in production until 1970, initially at the Volvo plant in Lundby (a district of Gothenburg) and subsequently at the Torslanda plant, which opened in 1964. A total of 667,791 vehicles were produced, approximately 60% of which were exported.

The response from the domestic and European markets was so positive that Volvo was convinced to try and break into the US market as well, where the Amazon arrived in 1959 with the 122S version presented at the New York International Auto Show that same year.

A winning design

Designed by Jan Wilsgaard, the 120 series – which became the model’s new name when Volvo started classifying all their models with three digits – was inspired by the American cars of the 1950s, in particular the Chrysler New Yorker and the Chrysler 300C hardtop coupé, as well as a Kaiser vehicle which Wilsgaard saw in Gothenburg harbour. Its body, available in three variants with two, four or five doors (station wagon), stood out for its high, curved beltline, wide shoulder lines and subtle yet visible tailfins.

The 122S arrived in 1958 and was the sporty version of the 121. It had a B16 1580 cc engine with two carburettors providing 76 hp. In 1961 the more powerful 1778 cc, 90 hp B18 engine was introduced, which was then substituted in 1986, towards the end of the car’s production period, by the even more powerful 1986 cc, 100 hp B20 engine.

The 122S legacy

Almost fifty years on and the Volvo 122S Amazon is still remembered as a vehicle of absolute quality. Indeed, the high production standards of the Swedish manufacturer came across not only via the immense joy of driving the car, but it was also evident in the robustness of its body, whose phosphatised steel guaranteed excellent paint adherence, initially only available in two colours. It should also not be forgotten that the 120 series was the first range of vehicles to introduce the 3-point front seat belts designed by Nils Bohlin.