Cyan Racing has unveiled its own take on the Volvo P1800, one of the Swedish manufacturer’s most iconic sports car from the sixties era.
Formed in 1996, Cyan Racing, formerly known as Volvo’s Polestar performance division, once had the sole purpose of developing Volvo cars for Touring races. Twenty-four years down the line, they still succeed in bagging three WTCC titles between 2017 and 2019.
“Our company was founded in 1996 to race Volvo cars in Sweden, and the Volvo P1800 is closing the circle for us. We claimed our first world title with Volvo in 2017 and have since won two further titles with two other manufacturers. The first world title was a milestone for us, and we felt it was a good time to reconnect with the past and to those before us racing Volvos. The first Volvo P1800 Cyan carries our blue and yellow racing colors to mark our heritage.” said Christian Dahl, founder, and CEO of Cyan Racing, reflecting on his legacy.
In the age of electric mobility, autonomous driving, and connected cars, the team decided to pay homage to its nostalgiac past by bringing forth the simplicity of the 60s and giving it the modern touch.
Design and Frame
Cyan Racing’s sole focus was on creating an unfiltered driving experience, devoid of any driver aids, but backed up by contemporary innovations in aero, chassis, and engine development.
The weak points in the chassis were stiffened by triangulation using high-strength steel and carbon fiber and integrating it with the carbon-fiber body and chassis structure.
Project Manager and Head of Engineering at Cyan Racing, Mattias Evensson, suggests that the carbon fiber body isn’t just a shell of separate panels, but rather structural components joined with a high strength adhesive to the steel. Of course, carbon fiber also adds to the structural rigidity of the body.
The end result is a body that weighs 150 kgs lighter than the original, tipping the scales at just 990 kg!
According to the manufacturer, the low weight and stiff chassis allow the driver to control the car with clinical precision. The original body was also altered to accommodate wider tracks, larger wheels, and a repositioned greenhouse.
Powertrain
The engine is a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit based on the same engine as the world-title winning Volvo S60 TC1 from 2017.
It produces 420 HP and 455 Nm of torque with a redline at 7700 rpm. Before settling on a turbocharged VEA unit, a range of other options were evaluated, including the original B18, the ‘Red Block’ B230, the 5-cylinder’ White Block’, and the short inline 6-cylinder engine.
The VEA was chosen due to its lightweight and efficiency. Also, their successes in racing cars based on the same platform prompted them to take it forward with the P1800 Cyan.
Despite being a turbocharged engine, it was developed to deliver a linear throttle response and torque curve characteristic of a naturally-aspirated engine.
Based on its racing and development driver’s input, Thed Bjōrk, the power peaks closer to the redline with the power band increasing across the rev-range, thereby making it a responsive and high-revving engine.
The engine is also mated to a five-speed bespoke Holinger gearbox designed to retain the original feel of the stock gearbox but with a greater gear change precision and the ability to handle increased torque.
It also comes with an advanced torque-biasing limited-slip differential with a unique set of gears capable of superior performance on a race track but is also suitable for road use.
It also comes with independent front and rear suspensions for superior handling and control.
The P1800 Cyan is a testimonial to the modern times that analog supercars continue to thrive, and the pure driving experience needs to be preserved for generations to come!
