The French manufacturer Norev started the production of their Volvo 1800 miniatures in the beginning of the sixties. These 1:43 plastic made cars are well proportioned and were available in dozens of different external colours and colour variations. Norev miniatures have with clear windows and with grey, brown or mostly mixed coloured interiors with well formed seats and a steering wheel. The silver bumpers, front grille and clear plastic headlights look nice.

They have silver wheels with black rubber tyres which have become hard over the years - the reason why the most early cowhorn bumpered cars have deformed wheels.

The always black bottoms are marked with: echelle 1/43, Volvo P 1800, les miniatures de Norev, made in France. After short time of production a quality sign was added near the rear rivets and after  while the No. 44 was added near the front rivets too.

But the main difference came with the change from Volvo P 1800 to the Volvo 1800 S cars.

Norev is the only manufacturer of miniatures who realized a production change of real Volvo 1800 cars.

They fitted their miniatures with the new and straight front bumpers and added engraved windscreen wipers to their cars. Apparently  they used another material for the tyres, because none of all the Volvo 1800 S miniatures with a straight front bumper has deformed wheels up to these days.

Very rare are the completely white tyres and these (on both sides) white painted whitewall tyres, which you can find on some other early Norev miniatures too.

Another variation are the Norev Volvo 1800 S cars without windows and interiors.

You will find these "Norev Bebé" or "Norev serie B" called miniatures on another page of this gallery...

Peter 07/02/06