Nowadays, Volvo is represented in the USA by a range of models for every taste. But in the middle of the 20th century, European automakers just beginning their path toward the USA market. Today, the Indy Auto Man Volvo car experts from Indianapolis are featuring the Philip, a Volvo concept car that was supposed to make Americans fall in love with it.
The car to enter the US market
In the 1950s, the measure of success for an automobile company was good sales in the USA. The endless sales market opened up opportunities but threatened trouble in case of failure. Volvo understood this very well, so they wanted to reduce the risks of launching the brand overseas to a minimum.
The Swedes began preparing for intervention in the USA with a concept car. The model was not another futuristic car that would attract the public to the company stand at a large exhibition. The Swedish manufacturer decided to make a car that would meet the needs of overseas buyers.
They approached the issue with the utmost thoroughness. In Gothenburg, they did not limit themselves to a good-looking model but decided to create a full-fledged running prototype with a functional interior and an unprecedented design. This is how the technical specifications for the development of the Philip sedan, the first post-war Volvo concept car, appeared.
Exterior by an inexperienced designer
The exterior of the Volvo Philip was entrusted to the very young designer Jan Wilsgaard: a graduate of the Gothenburg Academy of Applied Arts, he was only 20 years old at the time. However, this did not mean that the project of a large sedan was not important for the Swedes. It’s just that until 1950, Volvo did not have a design department. And the young, talented, and full of ideas Jan became its first head.
In general, the post-war era in automobile design is the time of the American style. Such giants as the GM Company can boast a rich history and design sophistication. Artists from the rest of the world shamelessly borrowed ideas from their colleagues in the USA. Volvo is no exception: the PV444/544 models are slightly smaller Fords from the early 1940s.
Wilsgaard, on the one hand, also tried to please the tastes of overseas buyers – after all, Philip was created specifically for them. However, the young designer did not allow the promising sedan to become a copy of cars designed in the USA.
By European standards, it was a large car. The wheelbase was 2.9 meters, and the overall length was about five meters. And the Philip was not a boring brick, as typical Volvo sedans were called in the 1970s.
The car combined successful proportions and bright design elements
The panoramic rear window with an elegant bend at the top and the reverse slope of the rear roof pillars deserve attention. The windshield also looked unusual: it bent along the upper edge – as if the car was frowning and thinking about something. The chrome bumpers were solid and, at the same time, stylish.
The stern of the sedan was decorated with keel fins developed by the standards of the early 1950s, and the rear wheels were partially covered – again, in keeping with the fashion of that time. The final touch was white wall tires and a two-tone paint job: a black roof and a gray steel body – a discreet but noble combination.
Wilsgaard’s team created a modern, attractive, and balanced car. However, some still saw similarities with large American sedans, such as the Kaiser Manhattan.
Someone may think the solid Philip lacks the signature Volvo style. But in the early 1950s, there was no Volvo style at all.
Special engine and gearbox
The brand planned to enter the US market, and the Volvo owners couldn’t bet on something smaller than a V8. The 3.5-liter engine, created from scratch, produced 120 hp at 4,300 rpm and worked in tandem with a two-speed automatic transmission. It was developed by a Danish Volvo engineer who had previously worked for the American company Chrysler.
Another interesting feature of the Philip was the ease of access to the engine: the car’s hood folds forward along with the front fenders.
The vehicle was presented to journalists on May 22, 1953. The Philip made a strong impression on the press, but its fate was already sealed. By all estimates, the large sedan was too expensive to produce to cover all the costs and count on good profit. They did not risk putting everything on one car, even a very promising one, in Gothenburg. And the Philip remained a single copy.
Practical approach
However, the running prototype was not cut into pieces but sent to the subsidiary company for the production of tractors Bolinder-Munktell. There, Philip worked for a long time as a company car.
The V8 engine created for the Philip later settled in Volvo Snabbe and Trygge trucks. Jan Wilsgaard himself, relying on the experience gained during the development of the sedan, created the legendary Amazon model. It became the first big success of the Swedish brand in the USA.
