The Volvo 480 was 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.
[] Development
First put on show at Geneva in 1985, the 480 became available to the public in 1986. 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 designed for the North American market, but it never made it there.
The concept was to design a front-wheel drive car with an integral computer to control the advanced electronics found in the car. Unfortunately, the necessary technology was still in its infancy, and the 480 was plagued with 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.
In 1987 the 480 was given new mirrors, and headrests for the back seats.
In 1988, a Turbo version was introduced, increasing the power from 109 hp to 120 hp. Maximum torque was 175 Nm instead of 140 Nm for the naturally-aspirated 1.7 L engine. In 1993, due to new legislation which meant that catalytic converters had to be fitted to unleaded petrol engines, power dropped and so the 2.0 L engine was developed; it was rated at 110 hp and 165 Nm.
Production ended on 7 September 1995 with about 80,463 units produced.
[] Prototypes for variants
The 480 factory also made several prototypes, including a 480 with an electric drivetrain, a supercharged version, a version with a 16-valve engine and a version with a turbocharged 2.0 L engine. However, none of these made it to production. A convertible was shown in the press in the mid 1980s but also did not make production due to a supplier going bankrupt
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