A lot of Swedish in your restomod series
If it can’t be Swedish enough for you, you should pay close attention now. Niels van Roij’s ‘Autoforma’ is launching a series of restomods based on the Volvo 1800 ES, cars that showcase their Swedish heritage in every possible way.
Winding roads with moose on them, Ikea boxes on the roof, misty pine forests: the Swedish theme is driven home by Norrsken. That means ‘Northern Lights’ and is the name of a restomod program by Volvo specialist Volvo Lotte and Autoforma, the restomod label of Niels van Roij Design.
Restomod? Yes, restomod. That is the (hopefully) tasteful modernization and enhancement of classics. Whether that tasty result has been achieved is, of course, up to you to decide. We can tell you that Autoforma, with Norrsken, focuses on the Volvo 1800 ES, one of the most iconic models in Volvo history. Within the program, the car is lowered, modernized, and widened, and then there are three design directions buyers can choose from. ‘Heritage Heaven’ brings a classic interpretation and has only limited technical adjustments.
‘Modern Marvel’ – you’ll never guess – is more modern and features, for example, modern LED headlights. These cars also get more power and a tighter suspension.
Then there is also ‘Forward Fashionista’. It is described by its creators as ‘the most expressive and performance-oriented interpretation’. Here, the technical adjustments are even more extensive, and the 1800 ES, for example, gets a more modern T5 five-cylinder engine and a revised transmission.
Norrsken currently focuses specifically on the 1800 ES and not on the regular P1800. Anyone interested in such a modernized 1800 ES can, of course, contact one of the involved parties. Despite all that ‘Swedishness’, this can be done in Dutch, which is quite convenient.