Marking a milestone in the life of Volvo’s unwavering style is the Volvo Amazon which continues to be in demand for many years still by Volvo collectors and also classic car collectors. Today, in Malaysia, a completely restored like new 4 door Amazon can be sold for as much as RM55,000. The 2 door a tad more and the wagon can fetch as high as RM65,000. Basic loved units sell for between RM10-15,000.
For any car manufacturer, the balance between aesthetics and practicality can be challenging to achieve but the Volvo Amazon is one of the most successful examples. Here is the Amazon 60 years after its launch.
Volvo’s Amazon started life with numbers such as 121 (four door), 131 (two-door) and 222 (estate).
The original Volvo Amazon model was called the 120 and it was announced on 1 August 1956. Volvo had planned to badge its new car as the Amazon, but, following complaints from the German motorcycle maker Kreidler, this was used only on the home market. The 1.6-litre engine and three-speed transmission were familiar from the PV444, but the four-door coachwork was a sensation. A two-door Amazon was added in ’61 and the following year the range was expanded with a station wagon, the car that Britain’s antique dealers had desired for so long. Before 1962, the standard Volvo estate was the PV445 Duett, which for the previous nine years had established a niche as Sweden’s national workhorse. The firm intended the five-door Amazon to appeal to a rather different market, however. The development costs were considerable – the roof, rear doors, wings and tailgate were unique to the 221 – and the new model was aimed at the upper middle classes. Both cars remained in production until ’69, when they were replaced by the 145.
