Volvo's hot rod Jakob is a new take on the company's very first vehicle, the 1927 OV4.
Volvo's hot rod Jakob is a new take on the company's very first vehicle, the 1927 OV4.
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A Swedish Hot rod builder has created a low-riding roadster that pays homage to the first-ever production Volvo. The Hot Rod Jakob, just unveiled at the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden, was built by specialist custom-car company Caresto.
The vehicle has been styled to look like the 1927OV4 - which was nicknamed the Jakob - through obvious features like the colour, but also in small details such as the bonnet, which has similar curvature and exactly the same radius as that on the OV4.
The windscreen attachment pillar that runs down the body side follows the original in detail and dimensions, materials and the number of screws used. Also identical is the radiator grille with its characteristic mesh pattern and diagonal bar that incorporates Volvo's iron symbol. The body has been built by hand from raw aluminium panels which were bent into their final shape using a hammer and English wheel - exactly as it was done in the prototype workshop in the 1920s.
Underneath, though, there is plenty of high technology. The chassis is built of lightweight carbon fibre, not from heavy steel beams as in bygone times. The brake discs are slim, but have huge diameters: 450mm at the front and 515mm at the rear.
The wheel spokes are made of aluminium instead of wood, but are exactly the same in number.
There are a number of classic Volvo parts in the Hot Rod Jakob. The steering wheel comes from a 1962 P1800, as do the gear lever gaiter and steering column. The brake pedal and brake master cylinder are from the 140-series. The M90 gearbox is Volvo's last rear-wheel drive variant and comes from a Volvo 960.
The engine, on the other hand, is brand new - a T5 unit (as in the latest C30 and C70 models) converted to run on eco-friendly ethanol.
