Volvo leverages TECHNO-CLASSICA 2012 for a big birthday party: "50 Years of Volvo Amazon Estate Car - 1962-2012" is the theme of the automobile manufacturer from Sweden. On a space of 300 square metres in hall 3, the Swedish company will probably present six interesting estate cars of the Volvo Amazon, among them a police car, a tuned example of the Volvo fastback and an untouched original example from 1964.

Volvo had presented the attractive Amazon with a divided grille and a flowing shoulder line in 1956. Named after the female warriors from Greek mythology, the limousine initially with four doors was convincing not only because of its appearance given by the young designer Jan Wilsgaard, but also due to the large space available and the high safety standard. With the model upgrading in 1961, a two-door version was added, now with a five bearing B18 engine (one carburettor, 68 HP) and the P 122 S with dual carburetor and 80 HP. As an addition, a four-door estate car was launched in February 1962, with a horizontally divided hatch door.

Also the spacious family vehicle soon achieved the reputation of a reliable everyday car. Both the bodywork with corrosion protection ex factory and the B18 and B20 engines proved to be extremely reliable and long-lasting. Therefore, this classic everyday car established the reputation of the tough "old chum", which Volvo still has. Allegedly, cars are supposed to exist with more than four million kilometers on the clock. Almost 645,000 examples of the Amazon were built, with exactly 73,196 estate cars manufactured between 1962 and 1968.

Incidentally, beginning in 1961, Volvo stopped offering the Amazon outside of Sweden under the mythic name. The Swedish manufacturer had lost the dispute with the motorcycle manufacturer Kreidler, who had registered the name for specific markets. Therefore, the limousine continued to run under the less prosaic name Type 121. Up to the chassis number 1400, Volvo identified the estate car as Type 221, later it got the same model name.
The edged 760 which was launched before 1982 and will become a vintage car this year, will certainly be another theme at the Volvo stand, however with no example on display.