Welcome to Cyan Racing and the Volvo P1800 Cyan, an interpretation of the iconic Volvo sports car from the sixties.
Why a Volvo P1800 Cyan?
”Our company was founded in 1996 to race Volvo cars in Sweden,” said Christian Dahl, CEO and founder of Cyan Racing.
“I joined in 2000 and when I took over the company four years later my goal was for the team to win the world title. The first decade was more about developing the company and the organisation than developing race cars.
“As part of this expansion, we founded the Polestar Performance company in 2009 to support our growth. This company and the name Polestar was bought by Volvo Cars in 2015. Soon after, in 2016, we had reached the level for entering the World Championship as Cyan Racing. A year later in 2017 we claimed our first world title with Volvo.
“We have since then won three further world titles with two other manufacturers. The first world title was a milestone for us, and we felt it was a good time to reconnect with the past and to those before us racing Volvos. Thus the first Volvo P1800 Cyan is a tribute to Volvo motorsport and the first car carries our blue and yellow racing colours to mark our heritage.”
Tailored to deliver genuine driving pleasure
While creating the Volvo P1800 Cyan, the team behind it decided to treat the design and engineering of the sixties with care, moving it forward in a delicate way.
There are no driver aids to distort the driving experience, meaning no stability control, ABS or brake booster.
The Volvo P1800 body has been altered to accommodate a wider track, larger wheels and repositioned greenhouse, among a long list of redesigns.
Engine and transmission design
The two-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine is based on the same engine as used in the world title-winning Volvo S60 TC1 race car, producing 420 horsepower and 455Nm of torque, with a redline at 7700 rpm.
A five-speed bespoke Holinger gearbox has been selected to carry the mechanical feeling of the original Volvo P1800, but with greater gear change precision and capability of handling the increased torque.
The original Volvo P1800 live rear axle is replaced with a Cyan-designed independent rear suspension.
A key part to the engaging rear-wheel drive experience is the torque-biasing limited slip differential. The differential is mounted in a Holinger housing with unique gears in order to combine capable performance on a circuit with civilised behaviour for road use.
A pure driver-focussed chassis
The Volvo P1800 Cyan started life as a 1964 Volvo P1800 that has been refined and reinforced utilising high-strength steel and carbon fibre.
The fully adjustable front and rear suspension features bespoke lightweight components, including aluminium uprights, double wishbones and two-way adjustable dampers with Cyan hydraulics.
The carbon fibre-reinforced chassis is connected to the road with 18″ forged rims with Pirelli P Zero 245/40 tyres at the front and 265/35 at the rear.
The car is controlled by 4-piston calipers with 362x32mm steel discs with genuine feeling as no brake booster or ABS is there to interfere.
A tailored interior
The interior is, just like the exterior of the car, a delicate interpretation of the original Volvo P1800 of the sixties.
The interior features a leather clad titanium roll hoop, racing seats, racing harnesses and bespoke digital instruments with a clear link to its original design.
“We have focused on creating an interior that reflects the car décor of the sixties in a modern version. We have kept the clean and driver-oriented interior of the original car, carefully moving it forward with modern materials and technology,” said Ola Granlund, Head of Design at Cyan Racing.
Please note that the Volvo P1800 Cyan will be marketed independently by Cyan Racing. Furthermore, it should be noted that there is no collaboration between Cyan Racing and Volvo Cars in relation to this car project, as well as that the trademarks “Volvo” and “P1800” are owned by Volvo Cars.
Report by cyanracing.com
