[This story first appeared in the January/February 2006 issue of MotorTrend Classic.] The 1960s and spies go together like single malt and scotch. The cold-war phenom started with James Bond, of course, but there were numerous spinoffs for big and small screen. Among the TV versions were The Avengers, Secret Agent Man, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Persuaders, I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Get Smart, and others, successful and otherwise. But the one most remember is The Saint, starring an über-dapper (pre-Sir) Roger Moore as the main character, Simon Templar. Templar was British, cultured, and principled, loved the ladies, and, as required, always saved the day. It was The Saint, which aired from 1962 through 1969 that paved the way for Moore’s ascension to the role of James Bond, which he played post-Templar from 1973 through 1985.
Every spy needs a cool ride. Prior to Bond’s hypertrick Aston Martin DB5’s appearance in Goldfinger (which arguably saved the marque from another bankruptcy), carmakers weren’t all that tuned in to the value of product placement. Moore was said to fancy a Jaguar for Templar (and himself), but Coventry would have none of it. Production supervisor Johnny Goodman suggested Moore consider the sporty new Volvo. He felt it would do the job for both him and the Saint.
Three different 1800s were used throughout the show’s production life. The first was a 1962 P1800, built at the Jensen factory in England before Volvo took production in-house. It was registered 71 DXC and, according to Rolling, the Volvo Owner’s Club magazine, used in the first 26 episodes. It was replaced by a 1964 model (now dubbed 1800S), registered 77 GYL. This car received some running updates—most likely in 1965—to keep up with changes Volvo made to production units. It appeared in 59 more shows.
Two new 1800s joined The Saint scene in 1967; one, registered NUV647E, was Moore’s personal driver. The other, NUV 648E, was the TV star and the car you see here. It was used for the rest of the life of the series, sexed up with a pair of auxiliary lamps in front, Minilite alloy wheels, and a two-spoke wood-rimmed steering wheel. A small fan was installed in back to help keep things cooler inside when the car was filled with stage lights. Otherwise, the right-hand-drive 648E was factory stock, including a manual transmission with overdrive. That famous “ST I” license plate? It was a made-for-TV prop—the initials standing for Simon Templar.
All this occurred before the day when a manufacturer provided star, stunt, and courtesy cars, plus support vehicles, to the movie producers at no cost—often including handsome sums just to have its products written into the script. The producers paid for each of the 1800s, although Volvo was obviously supportive and also provided the parts to build a stage buck used for certain types of filming sequences.