Volvo ÖV 4
Encyclopedia
Volvo Cars
Volvo Car Corporation, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo was originally formed as a subsidiary company to the ball bearing maker SKF. When Volvo AB was introduced on the Swedish...
. The designation ÖV4 stands for , "Öppen Vagn 4 cylindrar" in Swedish, which means Open Carriage 4 cylinders. The model ÖV4 was often referred to as "Jakob" but that was just a name for one of the 10 pre-series ÖV4 that was ready on July 25 Jakob's name-day. All 10 prototypes were assembled in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
at the company AB Galco, Hälsingegatan 41 where Gustav Larson
Gustav Larson
Erik Gustaf Larson was a Swedish engineer and co-founder of Volvo.Family: Married to Elin Octavia Fröberg, 1918. Four children: Erik, Anders, Gunnel and Britt....
worked at that time. Only one of the 10 pre-series cars manufactured during 1926 was saved for posterity and is housed in Volvo Museum
Volvo Museum
The Volvo Museum is in Gothenburg, Sweden. It covers the development of Sweden's leading vehicle manufacturer Volvo, from the first ÖV 4 to the current cars, trucks, buses and other products. The museum also contains many other exhibits, including Gabrielsson’s and Larson’s joint desk from the...
, in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The engine was designed by Gustav Larson and its main chassis components by Jan G. Smith
Jan G. Smith
Jan Gustav Salomon Smith, born 19 June 1895 in Stockholm, Sweden, died 30 April 1966 in Stockholm. In the literature he is known as Jan G. Smith. He was an engineer with a M.Sc. degree from KTH, Stockholm. For many years he worked in the American automobile industry and returned to Sweden in 1924...
, a designer who had worked many years in the American automobile industry and returned to Sweden in 1924. Many of Jan G. Smith
Jan G. Smith
Jan Gustav Salomon Smith, born 19 June 1895 in Stockholm, Sweden, died 30 April 1966 in Stockholm. In the literature he is known as Jan G. Smith. He was an engineer with a M.Sc. degree from KTH, Stockholm. For many years he worked in the American automobile industry and returned to Sweden in 1924...
's original drawings for the ÖV4 and other technical papers that he collected in America are saved in the archive of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
When the first series produced ÖV4 was about to drive out of the factory and engineer Eric Carlberg put it into first gear, the car was reversing. The explanation was that the differential gear in the rear axle had been fitted wrongly. This mistake delayed the introduction by one day and the official introduction day for the ÖV4 was then adjusted to the April 14, 1927, the day AB Volvo officially says the automobile company Volvo was "born"— this is from a marketing point of view. The company as an automobile company was born as a subsidiary company to SKF
SKF
SKF, Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB , later AB SKF, is a Swedish bearing company founded in 1907, supplying bearings, seals, lubrication and lubrication systems, maintenance products, mechatronics products, power transmission products and related services globally.-History:The company was founded on...
August 10, 1926.
The cabriolet was not very successful in the Swedish climate; the covered version, PV4 was introduced in the end of 1928. Between 1927 and 1929 a total of 996 cars were manufactured.
Technical specification
- Engine: 4-cylinder side-valve, volume 1940cc
- Power output: 28 hp @2000 rpm
- Max. output torque: 100 newton metre
- Gearbox: 3 forward, 1 reverse
- Max speed: recommended 60 km/h (37 miles/h), top speed 90 km/h (56 mph)
- Weight: 1170 kg (2,579 lb)