Myth Buster – Was there ever a Volvo 480ES convertible?
Debunking the most common old wives’ tales
VOLVO 480 1 IT WAS FOR THE USA
The irony of the 480 is that it was designed specifically for America… but never actually sold there. The 2+2 ‘sports wagon’ was partly a response to US dealer requests for something more exciting. However, after six years of development, the 480 entered a world where the dollar was so weak that Volvo would have made no money out of it. So despite all its American features, it was never sold across the Atlantic. Just a handful were imported privately.
2 IT WAS UNRELIABLE AND BADLY BUILT
Early cars led one magazine to dub the 480 ‘The Coupé from Hell’ because they weren’t well put together and the complicated electronics often went haywire. But Volvo worked hard to rectify things, and post-1992 2.0-litre facelift versions had the issues pretty much licked.
3 IT HAS ‘JUST’ A RENAULT 11 ENGINE
The original 1.7-litre cars did share their engine with the Renault 11. But with Renix fuel injection and Porsche brought in to tune things to make more of the Lotust-weaked suspension, the result was 109bhp or 120bhp from the turbocharged version, giving a top speed of 123mph. By contrast, the most powerful 1.7-litre R11 only put out 94bhp. So it was rather more than ‘just’ a Renault 11 motor…
4 THERE WAS A CONVERTIBLE
A convertible was announced, but only a few prototypes were built. This was allegedly because they couldn’t reach Volvo’s exacting safety and rollover standards. In reality, it was the bankruptcy of a major parts supplier that really killed the al fresco project.