If you’re a fan of the Volvo P1800, you likely fall into one of two camps. You either love the sleek, Italian-designed coupe that Roger Moore made famous in The Saint, or you’re a devotee of the ES—the shooting-brake variant affectionately (or morbidly) known as Snow White’s Coffin, thanks to its massive glass tailgate.
But let’s be real: as cool as the original ES looks, driving one in 2026 can feel like operating a piece of agricultural equipment. The B20 engine is a tank, sure, but it’s hardly high-performance by modern standards. Enter Autoforma, the design-led restomod label from the minds at Niels van Roij Design and Volvo Lotte. Their new project, the Norrsken, is here to prove that you don’t need to turn a classic Volvo into a stripped-out race car to make it relevant. You just need some serious engineering and a five-cylinder heart transplant.
The Philosophy: Norrsken vs. Cyan Racing
We have to address the elephant in the room: the Cyan Racing P1800. Cyan’s take is a masterpiece of carbon fiber and high-revving four-cylinder fury. It’s a track weapon designed to hunt Porsches.
Autoforma’s Norrsken (Swedish for Northern Light) takes a fundamentally different path. This is the Individualist GT. While Cyan is about lap times, Autoforma is about the experience of the journey. The Norrsken is designed to be lived with—a car that feels at home parked outside a modern art gallery in Stockholm or carving through a misty mountain pass. It’s not about removing the Volvo-ness; it’s about amplifying it with modern precision and Scandinavian Calm.
The Heart: That Sweet, Sweet T-5 Warble
The centerpiece of the Forward Fashionista spec is the legendary Volvo T-5 engine. Swapping a modern turbocharged five-cylinder into a classic chassis is a stroke of genius for several reasons:
Acoustic Character: There is nothing on earth that sounds like a Volvo five-cylinder. It has an off-beat, syncopated warble that evokes the Group B rally era and the iconic 850 Estate BTCC racers.
The 300 HP Sweet Spot: While you could tune a T-5 to 500+ HP, Autoforma has focused on a balanced 300 HP. In a car this light, 300 HP is the perfect amount of power to be exciting without overwhelming the chassis or making the car twitchy.
Modern Reliability: Paired with a modernized transmission and drivetrain, you get the punch of a modern hot hatch with the soul of a 70s icon.
Autoforma didn’t just drop the engine in and call it a day. They engineered a bespoke twin-exit exhaust system specifically to tune the voice of the Norrsken. It’s subtle at idle but opens up into that signature five-cylinder howl when you bury your right foot.
Engineering the Invisible: Ground-Up Geometry
You can’t just triple the horsepower of a 50-year-old car and expect the suspension to cope. The Norrsken features a technical overhaul that happens mostly out of sight, but you’ll feel it the moment you turn the wheel.
Custom Subframes: To house the T-5 and the upgraded suspension, Autoforma utilizes custom-engineered subframes that stiffen the entire platform.
Reworked Geometry: The front and rear suspension have been completely redesigned. We’re talking about optimized roll centers, adjusted scrub radius, and modern dampers that provide a supple yet controlled ride.
Quick-Ratio Steering: The original P1800 steering is… let’s call it vague. Autoforma replaces it with a modern power-assisted rack with a much quicker ratio. It’s direct, communicative, and finally lets you place the car with centimeter precision.
The Details: Rebuilding the Legend
Inside the cabin, Autoforma has avoided the trap of tablet-fying the dash. You won’t find a giant Tesla-style screen here. Instead, they’ve stuck to the original dashboard architecture but elevated every single touchpoint.
The highlight? The gauges. The iconic round chrome instruments are still there, looking the same as they did in 1972. However, the old mechanical internals have been gutted and replaced with modern precision electronics. This means you get rock-steady needles, accurate GPS-based speed sensing, and modern reliability, all housed within the classic Smith-style aesthetics. It’s the ultimate stealth upgrade.
Norrsken Technical Highlights:
Engine: Volvo T-5 2.5L Turbocharged 5-Cylinder
Output: ~300 HP / 400 Nm Torque
Body: Restored steel shell with carbon fiber arch extensions and chin spoiler
Chassis: Bespoke subframes with modern multi-link geometry
Wheels: Forged 18-inch alloys in “Minilite” or “Mesh” styles
Interior: Bridge of Weir leather, Scandinavian wool, and Alcantara
The Verdict: Why the Norrsken Matters
The Autoforma Norrsken is a reminder that performance isn’t always about 0-60 times. It’s about the way a door closes, the sound of an engine at 4,000 RPM, and the confidence to drive a classic car 500 miles in a single day without a second thought.
By choosing the T-5 engine and focusing on GT dynamics over track stiffness, Autoforma has created a restomod that feels uniquely Swedish. It’s calm, it’s capable, and it’s unapologetically individual. If the Cyan Racing P1800 is a shout, the Norrsken is a perfectly composed, high-fidelity whisper.
And man, that whisper sounds good.