Volvo's first overhead valve passenger car engine was the inline-four B4B of 1944 and its descendants, the B14A and B16.

It was a departure for Volvo who had not produced an automobile with a four-cylinder engine in nearly 20 years.

These diminutive carbs, familiar to any English sports car fan, improved the acceleration and overall performance of the B4B which in turn accomplished Volvo's corporate desire to make the PV444 cars powered by these engines more attractive to the American audience, whose attention Volvo hoped to gain.

Some of the earliest P1900 roadsters were built with B14s but many of the short production of 67 of these open fiberglass cars received the replacement for the B14 — the B16.

With the discontinuation of the B16 also came the end of 6 volt electrical systems in Volvo cars.