1933 Volvo Venus Bilo

The Volvo Too Strange for 1933

In 1933, Volvo helped create one of the most unusual cars of the prewar era: the Venus Bilo.

Commissioned by engineer Gustaf Ericsson and built by Stockholm coachbuilder Gustaf Nordbergs Vagnfabrik, the Venus Bilo looked nothing like the upright cars common at the time. Its rounded body, enclosed rear wheels, and flowing shape made it an early experiment in aerodynamic design, long before that became a mainstream concern.

But it was not just styled to look futuristic. It was designed to be genuinely useful.

The fenders included built-in compartments for custom suitcases, turning unused body space into storage. At the rear, one spare tire was mounted horizontally so it could double as a bumper.

The result was clever, efficient, and far ahead of its moment.

Too far, apparently.

The Venus Bilo received a mixed reaction and was considered too radical for production. Today, it stands as one of Volvo’s strangest early ideas: a car that treated aerodynamics and practicality as part of the same problem, decades before the rest of the industry fully caught up.