Volvo Cars Heritage is returning to the Footman James Classic Motor Show (November 11-13 at the NEC, Birmingham) after a two-year absence, marking the end of a hectic season for the collection. The event will see it sharing stand space with the Volvo Owners’ Club.

The Volvo show stand will represent the last of the Volvo P1800’s 50th anniversary activities. And Volvo Cars Heritage is already claiming that the NEC’s collection of P1800s could well surpass the impressive line-up that wowed the crowds at this year’s TechnoClassica show in Essen.

Top attraction will be a P1800 from 1961, complete with its original 2.5-litre DOHC four-cylinder Aston Martin prototype engine – fitted to the car at the Aston factory for test purposes when it was new. Although this project never went further, the car has survived and is today proudly owned and run by Beat Roos of Roos Engineering in Switzerland.

Also on show will be the famous P958-X1 prototype of what was to become the P1800, while its designer and creator – Pelle Petterson – will also be present at the NEC. Other cars on the stand will be ST1 – the white 1800 from ‘The Saint’ – as well as a serious-looking 1800S in rally guise.