Volvo Venus Bilo

The Volvo Venus Bilo was a concept car revealed by Volvo Cars in 1933. It was a streamlined design with rear hinged doors and conventional doors in the side to access the engine bay. It was designed to have a great loading capacity. Nine specially designed suitcases could be fitted into spaces in the back and a compartments in the right front fender (the left fender contained spare tyre and tools). A second spare tyre in the rear was used as a bumper. The design was done by Gustaf Ericsson (son of Lars Magnus Ericsson). It was based on a Volvo PV655 chassis and the coachwork was done by Gustaf Nordbergs Vagnfabrik AB in 1932.[1] The name was a pun, referencing Venus de Milo, with bil meaning "automobile" in Swedish.

Volvo Venus Bilo
Overview
Manufacturer	Volvo Cars
Production	1933 (Concept car)
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury car
Body style	4-door saloon
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related	Volvo PV 36 Carioca

Automobile model, made by Gustaf L.M. Ericsson in 1932.

The designer by the side of his prototype car. Picture for the paper Idrottsbladet 23 November 1933.

The concept was a 4-door saloon with 4 seats and it led to the production model Volvo PV 36 Carioca 4-door saloon.

The fate of the car itself is unknown. After World War II it was sold to a person in Denmark. In the mid-1950s it was owned by a Danish scrapyard owner who rebuilt it into a pick-up truck. It was used as late as 1956, but then it vanished.[2][3]

References

1. "Streamlining as embodied in a foreign car". The New York Times. 18 February 1934.
2. Venus Bilo - Cars made in Sweden, info from Konditori 100 (ceased) Internet archive
3. The search for Volvo Venus Bilo

Nordberg, Nils (1969). Karossmakarens berättelser: glimtar från bilismens födelse och tillväxt i Sverige och om de stora bilälskarna (in Swedish). Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren.