Volvo 480 - Who Knew

I have never seen one of these in real life and only found out it actually existed today thanks to a car show on tv. 
 

Now I want one. 
 

Wiki said it was made from 86 - 95 so the 25 year rule is in play here. I know nothing about it other than I think it is just a cool looking car.  

Didn't those run a CVT from...DAF? I remember them  being a little interesting technically. 

Nope, I'm thinking of the 340. 
 

I had not come across a 480. It's a little unusual. I can see some Isuzu Impulse in there, That's not a bad thing. 

Always loved these. Supposedly Volvo intended to bring them to the US (they have big bumpers to meet US safety standards) but pulled out at the last minute.

They seem really left field until you park them next to a P1800. If you had a C30 in these shots you would really be able to trace the lineage.

It all makes sense!

I like it. Just what I needed, another weird, nearly unobtainable car desire.

There was a 480 GLT available with a B23E, which would have been glorious indestructible fun, for the time it was built.

Hell, it would still be fun.  

Wasn't there a thread for one of these for sale a while back? An import, obviously, but still. I seem to recall only available as an automatic. Time to try the search function, I guess.

Looks like there have been a few threads, here is one:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/volvo-480/56679/page1/

matthewmcl said:

Wasn't there a thread for one of these for sale a while back? An import, obviously, but still. I seem to recall only available as an automatic. Time to try the search function, I guess.

Looks like there have been a few threads, here is one:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/volvo-480/56679/page1/

 

 

Holly time travel!!  Back to 2012!!!  But now you can legally import it!!  

Streetwiseguy said:

There was a 480 GLT available with a B23E, which would have been glorious indestructible fun, for the time it was built.

Hell, it would still be fun.  

I thought the 480 was front wheel drive, all this time.

Unless it IS and they made a front drive trans for the redblock?

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Streetwiseguy said:

There was a 480 GLT available with a B23E, which would have been glorious indestructible fun, for the time it was built.

Hell, it would still be fun.  

I thought the 480 was front wheel drive, all this time.

Unless it IS and they made a front drive trans for the redblock?

It's off to the goggles for that.  I'm 61.  My memory may not be what it should be...

Nope.  I lied like a politician.  2.0 na, 1.7 turbo.

My meat computer sure does remember a B23 480, though.  Maybe it's broken.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

780?

I see a little Geo Storm hatchback in it too

I remember reading about these in Autoweek back in the day.  It may even have been their new car issue, so I think they were very close to being sold in America up until the very last minute. 

Ooof.. That poor car. Look what they did to it.

It's like the result of a coke fueled one night stand between a Ferrari Daytona and an Isuzu Impulse.

Not in a good way either.

I think they're kinda neat in person, but then again a) nobody ever accused me of having good taste and b) when I grew up the local Volvo dealer was flogging new ones.

As already mentioned, these are FWD based on a Renault drivetrain, built in the old DAF factory but without the "goes as fast backwards than it does forwards" proto-CVT.

In reply to pointofdeparture :

I am a fan of the C30 styling, that rear hatch is a great nod to the P1800 wagon. 

I've seen these in person in Europe and they do look cool.  If they had been 200 based I think I'd want one pretty badly.  As it is, eh, good looks let down by a rather pedestrian platform.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Nope.  Just faulty electrical impulses in the meat in my head. 

I still service a 780.  B280, unfortunately. 

I always wanted a 262C with a B230FT swap, but I just don't fit in the car.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

That looks like the result of a drunken night with a Chevette, a Mazda 323 and a VW Fox.

I remember seeing one of those in Minneapolis some years ago.  It had diplomatic license plates on it, so it must have belonged to someone at the local Swedish consulate.

I never liked these when new but today I can sort of appreciate the 80's styling and the interior is quite cool.

But they don't drive very nice. I did a cross-Europe trip in the late 1990's in a friends 440 GLT (basically a 4-door version of the 480). The engine is a boring 8v Renault thing.  The standard one had 101 bhp and the top-of-the line turbo version had 120 bhp... The similar Renault R19 was available with a 16v 1.8 litre at 135 bhp that would have been a much better engine...

But this version is kind of fun!

http://build-threads.com/build-threads/volvo-480-rwd/

Gustaf

I just found out about these on a Reddit thread.  Just a cool little hatch that gets bonus points for flip up headlights.

No matter what the numbers say, the 480 is not twice as good as a 240.