Volvo 480 is First Produced

The Volvo 480 is a car with an unusual 4 seat, 3-door hatchback body, somewhere between liftback and estate in form, though marketed as a coupé. It was the first front-wheel drive car made by Volvo Cars and the only production Volvo to feature pop-up headlamps.

Development

Press launch was on October 15 1985, but the 480 was first put on show at Geneva in 1986, becoming available to the public in 1987. It was produced in Born, Netherlands at the factory which built DAF cars, including the DAF 66-based Volvo 66 and later Volvo 300 Series. The platform that was also used in the Volvo 440 and 460. It was originally planned for the North American market (as can be evidenced by its US-spec front and rear side markers, not used on European automobiles), but took some time before it was sold in the U.S due to unfavourable currency exchange rates. The 480 was the first Volvo of its sport back style since the Volvo P1800, and the last until the unveiling of the Volvo C30. All of these models featured a distinctive frameless glass hatchback which has become something of a trademark for such Volvo coupés.
The concept was to design a sporty, luxury front-wheel drive car with advanced electronics. Unfortunately, the necessary technology was still in its infancy, and in the early days due to funding, the 480 suffered electrical problems. Revisions in the early-1990s saw improved reliability. Offsetting these problems, the car had excellent handling, due in no small part to its Lotus-designed suspension, and a series of reliable Renault engines, tuned by Porsche. It was also Volvo's first front wheel drive model.
In 1988, a Turbo version was introduced, the Garrett AiResearch turbocharger increasing the power from 109 PS (80 kW; 108 hp) to 120 PS (88 kW; 118 hp). Maximum torque was 175 N·m (129 lb·ft) instead of 140 N·m (103 lb·ft) for the naturally-aspirated 1.7 L engine. In 1993 (UK), due to new legislation which meant that catalytic converters had to be fitted to unl...

The 480 started life in 1978 as a project by Volvo called the 'E12', and some 7 years later, in October 1985 it appeared to the world as the 480 ES, with the official launch following some 6 months later at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1986. It is quite remarkable that a Company such as Volvo could take so very long to complete the project, particularly when they subsequently promoted it in their literature as being a successor to the 1800, which was discontinued some 12 years earlier in 1973. The 'E12' project was commenced in Gothenburg, and was subsequently transferred to the Netherlands in 1983, where the cars were later manufactured. One major advantage of manufacturing them there was that the vehicles were being built within the European Community. The 400 series, in general, was according to Volvo designed to complement their existing and future range, and with the exception of the 480 (which was loosely marketed as a successor to the 1800) was not meant as a direct replacement for either the 300 or 200 series. Despite this statement, it is hardly surprising that the 300 series disappeared fairly quickly after the arrival of the 440's and 460's. The 480 was a very close competitor to the 360 GLT which probably explains why the 360 was discontinued first. At its launch, the 480 boasted a whole host of electronic gadgets aimed at making life easier for the driver.

The car is equipped with an electronic information centre, displaying oil, water, and outside air temperatures, along with average speed, plus instant and average fuel consumption. Its computer also assists with the windscreen wipers, switching the rear wiper on automatically, should reverse gear be selected whilst the front wipers are on. There is also the facility whereby the front wipers increase their speed to maximum when the throttle is fully depressed for harsh acceleration. This was a very innovative feature, but one which was subsequently dropped on later models. Even the lighting has...