When in Sweden, See the Classic Cars, Trucks, and More at World of Volvo

It’s been open for a year now, the new World of Volvo museum that tells the story of Swedish automaker Volvo, which celebrates 100 years in business in 1927, founded here in Gothenburg. The building itself is a fascinating web of massive curved hardwood ribs extending from the floor and supporting a circular roof. Its Scandinavian design shares certain design elements with the cars featured inside.

You can see the singular desk that founding fathers Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson (an economist and an engineer) shared as they set out to build a car that set new standards for safety and quality. The first Volvo rolled off the production line in 1927, and the name means “I roll” in Latin, referring to the Swedish SKF ball bearing that arrived in 1915.

This is a totally family-friendly venue, with lots of fun interactive stuff for little ones, like dump trucks for kids to climb on and move balls from a big pit. There are many tributes to Volvo’s safety milestones, but none as moving as the walk of fame past large portraits of people who survived horrific accidents in their Volvos. They are presumably customers for life.

Want to buy a Volvo produced in Sweden and take delivery in Gothenburg? That happens here in a private studio within the World of Volvo museum, and you don’t have to worry about any tariff—for now. Or, you can buy a Volvo S60 or EX90 produced in South Carolina for further tariff protection.

Practically every vehicle type you can imagine from the last 100 years is represented here: Sedans, coupes, station wagons, convertibles, race cars, EVs, concepts, trucks, buses, tractors, police cars, tow trucks, fire trucks. In all, there are about 50 vehicles in the World of Volvo, but another facility will open to the public in Gothenburg next year to display a wider array of historic Volvo cars.

The World of Volvo replaces what was the corporate—and fairly outdated—Volvo museum. With Zhejiang Geely Holding, a Chinese company, owning Volvo Cars since purchasing it from Ford in 2010, the World of Volvo is perhaps an opportunity for Swedish management to celebrate its rich heritage.

First production-series Volvo 264, from 1974, with air conditioning and a sunroof. Notice overhead the hardwood “ribs” used for both artistic and structural purposes.

The midsize Volvo Amazon, marketed from 1956 to 1970, was introduced in the US as the 122S at the 1959 NY auto show.

Volvo produced only 67 units in 1956 and 1957 of the Sport P1900, and it was considered a failure. Its fiberglass-reinforced polyester body was inspired by the Chevy Corvette.

Before going to the museum, we started the day at the Volvo Cars Demo Center and got to drive classic Volvos on a one-mile track through rolling hills. This 1968 Volvo 1800 S from the corporate collection was there to be seen—not to drive.

The boxy 1974 Volvo 164 E in front of 1968 Volvo 1800 S.

1970 Volvo P130 Amazon.

1970 Volvo P130 Amazon heads out for a spin at the Volvo Cars Demo Center.

1970 Volvo P130 Amazon with ripple red interior and generously proportioned head restraints.

1970 Volvo P130 Amazon.

Slender steering wheels in the time of the 1970 Volvo P130 Amazon.

Hand brake to the driver’s left in 1970 Volvo P130 Amazon.

1970 Volvo P130 Amazon.

1973 Volvo 1800 ES.

1973 Volvo 1800 ES with color-matched carpet.

1973 Volvo 1800 ES with a whole lotta glass in back.

1973 Volvo 1800 ES with a tape deck!

1960 Volvo PV 544.

1960 Volvo PV 544.

1960 Volvo PV 544 handles well on the Volvo test track.

Head restraints weren’t yet widespread in the time of the 1960 Volvo PV 544.

1960 Volvo PV 544 with its distinctive bubble back.

No seatbelts in second row of this 1960 Volvo PV 544, but attaching the front belts requires muscle and patience.

The belts release by squeezing up on the clasp.

Volvo 240 GL.

1994 Volvo 960.

1975 Volvo 242 DL.

After leaving the Volvo Cars Demo Center, we arrived at the World of Volvo museum, where this gem is parked just inside the main entrance: 1933 Volvo PV 655, billed as “the world’s most beautiful Volvo” at a concours in Germany.

Volvo appears to have been inspired by Packard wheels back in the 1930s.

Inlaid wood trim on the passenger side door of the 1933 Volvo PV 655.

The Volvo ES90 is a high-output all-electric large sedan that is not yet available in the US.

When Volvo acquired Dutch automaker DAF in 1972, this two-door compact became the Volvo 66 in 1975.

Want to buy a Volvo produced in Sweden and take delivery in Gothenburg? That happens here in a private studio within the World of Volvo museum, and you don’t have to worry about any tariff—for now. Or, you can buy a Volvo S60 or EX90 produced in South Carolina for further tariff protection.

Safety gets a spotlight in the Volvo museum, of course. This corridor features people who survived horrific wrecks in their Volvos. Traveling with her daughter, this woman was hit from the side and then from behind—then shot at by a fugitive who tried to steal the car during a police chase.

Volvo historian Hans Hedberg tells the story of the first Volvo car, the ÖV 4, which stumbles out of the gate in 1927: The first model driven from the factory can only go in reverse because a rear axle gear was installed incorrectly.

Volvo sold 201 copies of the ÖV 4 in 1927 with a 28-hp four-cylinder.

With its open top, the Volvo ÖV 4 was not popular in Swedish winters.

With the same four-cylinder as in the ÖV 4, Volvo’s first bus came in 1928, with room for 15 passengers. With a top speed of 12 mph, passengers grew impatient.

Volvo stepped up to its first cars with fully metal bodies in 1933, the PV 654, with 65-hp six-cylinder engines.

It looks like a vacuum, but that’s a defroster in the 1933 Volvo PV 654—essential for Scandinavian winters.

Lamborghini isn’t the only European automaker with a tractor history.

Volvo made the B513 bus from 1944 to 1952. This one served northwest Stockholm and was fixed after an accident in the late 1950s. Enthusiasts discovered it in a garage 20 years later and restored it to pristine condition. At left is the Volvo PV 445 Duett, which was produced from 1953 to 1960.

Volvo introduced the PV 444 in 1944 as war was raging in Europe. The car was a hit and orders piled up. But the first car wouldn’t be delivered until 1947. The PV 444 stayed in the market until 1957.

1960s architecture was characterized by large windows, straight lines, functionality, and simplicity, kind of like the Volvo 145, which was produced from 1966 to 1974 and was the starting point of Volvo’s occupant protection journey.

In April 1966, New York high school teacher Irv Gordon bought this Volvo P1800 and went on to set a world record in 2013 by driving it 3 million miles. What a story.

Irv Gordon’s famous high-mileage P1800. That can’t be factory paint, after a total of 3.2 million miles.

At the 1959 New York Boat Show, Volvo Penta introduced the Aquamatic, combining the efficient drive of an outboard engine with the lower fuel consumption of an inboard. It’s still in production.

The Volvo Experimental Safety Car, presented in Geneva in 1972, has safety technology featured in regular cars decades later: airbags, a rear-view camera, antilock brakes, and a long bumper for surviving high-speed frontal collisions.

That rear-facing camera wasn’t exactly hidden in the Volvo Experimental Safety Car, presented in Geneva in 1972.

With 13 hp, the Volvo Electric Prototype that arrived in 1976 wasn’t very fast, and it took 10 hours to charge the 300-kg batteries to drive a mere 31 miles.

This Volvo LV 290 DS tow truck was used by the Swedish Army’s P4 regiment from 1941 to 1951.

Volvo sold only 500 units of the PV 36 Carioca from 1935 to 1938, but it streamlined Volvo styling at the time. This car, with a worn body that appears to be all original, was Volvo founder Gustav Larson’s company car.

Volvo calls this 280-hp 850 BTCC “the fastest estate in the world” in 1994.

A German fire chief got to ride in style in this Volvo 245 DL.

This Volvo PV 56 from 1939 is one of the first radio-equipped police cars.

Note the flute-like muffler, which gave this Volvo PV 56 police car a combustion-driven siren.

This 1967 Volvo Duett police car features an extra partition, allowing a police dog and other equipment to be loaded separately.

Volvo’s 2004 YCC (Your Concept Car) was developed by a group of women, inspired by an American expert who told them: “If you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men.”

Volvo historian Hans Hedberg is a great tour guide.

Leaving the museum, we spot a vintage Bentley race car on the streets of Gothenburg. As one does.