One Year After Sir Roger Moore Died, Volvo Pays Tribute
Roger Moore drove a Volvo P1800 as Simon Templar in The Saint long before he got behind the wheel of a Lotus or Citroën as James Bond.
Sir Roger Moore died a year ago today, May 23, 2017. The actor was best known for his role as a certain martini-swilling, suave secret agent, James Bond aka 007. Prior to playing the Bond character, he had the role of Simon Templar in The Saint. As one of the most successful British spy shows of the 1960s, Moore brought fame to the car of the show, the Volvo P1800 sports car, as much as the title role.
Running for 118 episodes, and enjoying broadcasts in dozens of countries, The Saint's popularity within its genre was rivaled only by The Avengers. And as thanks to Moore for the prestige brought to the brand, Volvo called upon the man who designed the P1800—Pelle Petterson, now 85—to be its mouthpiece in a video in which it pays its respects.
The Swedish automaker saw no better way to toast the late British actor than by putting Petterson in the driver's seat of the P1800 once owned by Moore, connecting the two men most attributable for the P1800's success.
"Sitting here, he feels very present," says Petterson from within Moore's old car. "I'm sure he's happy to see his car, enjoying the spotlight too. I'm pretty sure I’ll meet him further down the road."
Moore appeared as the James Bond character a total of seven times between 1973's Live and Let Die and 1985's A View to a Kill. Moore also elevated many a car to timeless status during his run as James Bond, from the AMC Hornet in The Man with the Golden Gun to the Lotus Esprit Turbo in The Spy Who Loved Me.