Originally appeared on Automoblog.net

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In June 1960, Volvo CEO Gunnar Engellau laid out plans for a bold new vehicle with the automaker’s management. This “P660” project was to be larger than the Amazon but not to exceed its weight or price. It was to have the same wheelbase as both the Amazon and PV544, although several different chassis configurations were conceived.
In keeping with Volvo’s legacy, this new vehicle was to meet the strictest safety standards.
Flash forward six years . . .
On August 17th 1966, almost four hundred journalists gathered at the Lorensberg function rooms in central Gothenburg, Sweden at the behest of Volvo. Speculations stirred for several years about this new and particularly modern vehicle. Could this one give Volvo a larger global presence" Until that August day, nobody could say for certain. When the dividing wall was raised, there stood three pre-series versions of the new Volvo 144. Just as the curtain lifted in Gothenburg, the 144 was also revealed in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki. 8 years later, the 144 would become Volvo’s first million seller.

In the Name of the Law
Keeping the 144 a secret leading up to the reveal proved rather difficult. At the time, a major law enforcement offensive was underway to catch two police killers. The night before the press reveal, the vehicles were lifted into the function rooms by crane in massive...