Cyan Racing chief engineer Mattias Evensson and his crew headed to northern Sweden with the Volvo P1800 Cyan, throwing the car sideways between the snow walls in -20 degrees Celsius.
"The Volvo P1800 Cyan is our way for us to combine the best from the past and today, moving away from the power, weight and performance figures of contemporary performance cars,” said Mattias Evensson Volvo P1800 Cyan Project Manager and Head of Engineering at Cyan Racing.
The team traveled close to 1000 kilometers north of the Cyan Racing headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, to the frozen lakes and snow drenched roads of Åre, Mattias Evensson’s hometown.
The location provided the team with the right conditions to explore the characteristics and limits of the Volvo P1800 Cyan in challenging conditions.
“What really struck me from this expedition was that the car is so easy to drive and that you do not need to provoke it to get it where you want,” said Mattias Evensson.
“All of the properties that we have tried to achieve were almost amplified by driving it on the low grip of snow and ice.
"The basic concept of the car seems to work really well, it does not matter that much if you are on a bone-dry racing circuit, a wet and twisty country road or on the crisp ice here in northern Sweden. You still feel confident and in control.
"I would say this concept has somewhat been lost along the way for the performance cars of today. For us, this is returning back to basics."
The Volvo P1800 weighs less than 1000kg, featuring no driver aids, a dog-leg manual gearbox and an engine designed to deliver increasing power all the way to the redline.
“Our aim has been to make a car with a sound base design that leaves it to you as the driver to explore the limits, rather than leaning on electronic driver aids to control the power and weight as with most modern performance cars,” said Mattias Evensson.
“And it’s all connected with the engine response, the chassis balance and the low weight, making the car playful and rewarding.”
The Volvo P1800 Cyan has received praise in global automotive press on the topics of driving pleasure:
“In damp conditions that would be terrifying in a modern supercar, the little Volvo is precise, involving, and most of all fun. If you're brave, it happily indulges in large slides.” Auto Express.
“I can’t remember the last time shifting gears was this much of a pleasure. The whole experience is engaging like nothing modern this side of a Caterham, Ariel or Lotus Elise.” Autocar.
“What you get then is a neat road/track compromise – soft enough to enjoy on the public highway, fast and interactive enough to keep even the handiest of hands happy on track. You can forget your stopwatch and just enjoy a bit of built-in squish, the natural movement of the car through your buttocks and that old-school analogue feel despite a new-school tolerance to abuse.” Top Gear.
Learn more about the Volvo P1800 Cyan: https://bit.ly/3gVeNZM
Media contact information
Johan Meissner
Press Manager
Cyan Racing
+46(0)70 241 3234
johan.meissner@cyanracing.com
About Cyan Racing and this project
Cyan Racing was founded in 1996 and was formerly named Polestar until Volvo Cars acquired the performance section and trademark in 2015. Cyan Racing is privately owned and operated. The team has claimed the last three touring car World titles, most recently the 2020 WTCR drivers' and teams' titles with Lynk & Co – and participated in the development of the Polestar performance models of the Volvo S60 and V60 in the years 2013 to 2015, including the concept models Volvo C30 and S60 Polestar Concept Prototype.
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.