Volvo PV444 CS

The strange device on the roof of this Volvo PV444 'Kattenrug' is the turn signal, the so-called 'Fixlight'.

In 1953 it was banned by Swedish law, so it was replaced with side indicators. Other striking accessories include the searchlights and the huge sun visor. Even more interesting to note is the fact that the car’s first owner, Anton Ullstrand, a university lecturer from the island of Gotland, kept accurate administrative records of the car from the date of purchase on 19 June 1952 onwards. All the papers still exist, including servicing invoices, receipts for the hiring of a garage and a log of its fuel consumption. The last entry was for February 1987, a month and a half before Ullstrand’s death at the age of 84. The Volvo was then sold and fully restored. Dutch automotive journalist Jeroen Jongeneel became its fourth owner in 2002, and in 2007 it was added to the Louwman Museum collection. The PV444 was first presented in neutral Sweden in 1944. The war itself and the postwar shortage of materials forced manufacture to be postponed until 1947. PV stands for ‘Person Vagn’ (Swedish for ‘passenger car’), and the figure of 444 stands for 'four-seater, four-cylinder, four-stroke engine'. CS is a series designation.