Volvo Amazon
The post-war Volvo saloon and estate that combined export success with the standard three-point safety belt.
Overview
Volvo presented the prototype of its new passenger car in 1956 and began production in 1957. Known as the Amazon in the Nordic countries and generally as the 121 or more powerful 122S elsewhere, it introduced Volvo’s first ponton body: the wings, bonnet and passenger compartment formed a unified shape rather than the separate-wing outline of the PV444.
The Amazon became an important export model. Approximately 60 per cent of production was sold outside Sweden, and in 1963 it became the first Volvo assembled outside the country when the company opened a plant in Halifax, Canada. Assembly later expanded to Durban in South Africa and Ghent in Belgium.
Its most influential equipment arrived in 1959. Volvo fitted Nils Bohlin’s three-point safety belt as standard in the front seats of the Amazon and PV544, becoming the first manufacturer to make the design standard equipment. Volvo allowed other manufacturers to use the patented arrangement, helping it become the basis of the modern safety belt.
Body styles and variants
P120 four-door saloon (1957–1966)
The original four-door model began with Volvo’s 1.6-litre B16 inline-four. The higher-output 122S supplemented the 121, and a 1.8-litre B18 engine arrived in 1961. Front disc brakes were initially fitted to S versions and became standard across the range in 1964.
P130 two-door saloon (1961–1970)
Volvo introduced the two-door Amazon in September 1961, particularly for markets where two-door family cars were popular. Its lighter body also formed the basis of the 123GT, launched for 1967 with the 1800S sports car’s engine, four-speed gearbox with overdrive, tachometer and additional lamps.
P220 estate (1962–1969)
The five-door estate completed the range at the 1962 Stockholm Motor Show. Its horizontally split tailgate had an upper section that lifted and a lower section that folded down, combining a family-car cabin with a practical rectangular load area.
Engines and later production
The overhead-valve four-cylinder range grew from the 1.6-litre B16 to the 1.8-litre B18 and, for the 1969 model year, the 2.0-litre B20. Three- and four-speed manual gearboxes, optional overdrive and a three-speed automatic were offered across different models and markets.
The four-door Amazon gave way to the Volvo 144 after 1966, but the two-door and estate continued alongside the newer car. Estate production ended in 1969, and the final two-door Amazon left the Torslanda plant on 2 July 1970. More than 667,000 examples were built across the three body families.