OpenTube

The Slow Death of the Fast Volvo

carharley

14,646 views

Volvo; outside of a few iconic moments here and there, aren't a brand associated with going fast. But both their sporting history and catalogue of fast road cars may surprise you.

Rallying, touring cars, supercars and more - it's all here in this absolute yapfest. Sorry I went on a bit. Again.

0:00 intro
1:24 The PV series and rallying
4:25 Amazon
5:01 The 343 and the "Flying Brick"
7:44 Truck racing
8:39 The 850 and BTCC
10:51 Road models
12:09 Concept cars
14:21 Polestar part 1: Concept to production
18:35 Part 2: Cyan, Swedes and Supercars
21:22 Part 3: Going it alone
22:56 P1800
24:15 You're still here, you don't need a timestamp

Related: SAAB: The Rise and (Very Complicated) Fall

get in touch: harleysc2002@gmail.com

Volvo PV444
Volvo PV544
Volvo Amazon
Volvo 123GT
Volvo 343
Volvo 240 Turbo
Volvo 240 Group A
Volvo 240 Turbo Evolution
Volvo N12
Volvo 850 T5-R
Volvo 850R
Volvo 850 BTCC
Volvo S40
Volvo XC90
Volvo T6 Roadster
Caresto V8
Volvo C30
Volvo C30 Polestar
Volvo S60 WTCC
Volvo S60 TC1
Volvo S60 V8SC
Volvo S60 Polestar
Volvo V60 Polestar
Polestar 1
Volvo S60 T8
Volvo EX30

20 Comments

@Doshiba 5 months ago Pinned

I love volvo lol

@QwertiusMaximus 5 months ago

I remember a rather cheeky '90s Volvo TV ad here in the US showing a Volvo wagon passing a BMW in a race, with the voiceover saying "is nothing sacred?" or something to that effect.

@MontegoReviews 5 months ago

At first I was wondering why you didn't show footage of the P2 platform V70r when talking about the road cars, but then I realized that your video would have been flagged for pornography if you did. Good video.

@goncalo33 5 months ago

13:29 Volvo sort of had their own Prowler for a bit... oh, you beat me to it. Imagine this becoming a market segment.

@Yesireyesire 5 months ago

Would've been nice if we got the buffed xc90 that looks like a Ferrari with the shield in production lol

@skymuffn 5 months ago

…I remember how I wanted an 850 Wagon when it came to the US in ‘93. My neighbor got a ‘96 R Wagon and in ‘99 she offered it to me. Wish I jumped on it and would still be driving it now. But I had inherited my late Aunt’s ‘90 240 Wagon and my Gran’s ‘85 300TD which I still drive around the Bay Area. I’m so happy I live across the street from my Mother for now at 91 I get to see her all the time. It was a week ago that she had to renew her Drovers License where the agents were in awe how young she looks and her perfectly clean record. I then asked them to guess the car she drives. I pointed at her 2016 V60 Polestar which I had to explain that it goes from 0-60 in less than 5 seconds. Mother had a fun DMV visit thanks to the folks at the Redwood City DMV

@AnotherBrBFan 4 months ago

Love your subtle sense of humor. You've got a great voice for this stuff.

@mjgolab 5 months ago

Lovely work. I am a very proud Aussie owner of a 2015 rebel blue S60 Polestar. Love that turbo straight 6. The S60 Polestar was originally released in Australia in 2013. Lovely cars and lovely era. Shame that's the past.

@Guitardude302 5 months ago

Please do Alfa Romeo next. This was by far the best Volvo documentary I’ve seen. Excellent work with all the old clips and covering the best of the 3.0 T6’s 🙌

@TarmenAmzarian 5 months ago

This, as all of your videos I've watched, is excelent! Looking forward to the next one!

@trevorlangenbahn8866 5 months ago

Amazing video! Love the little bits of humor sprinkled in as well

@KDkorMEvol2 5 months ago

Ok, that XC90 puv is my new dream car 😍

@Viscosity-cb3xl 4 months ago

The Volvo S60 T6 Polestar. Engineered by Polestar racing from the ground up for a street legal performance car. The fastest Volvo to hit the streets. Very limited numbers and highly collectable. Absolutely incredible car to drive.

@ravher 4 months ago

What a well made video! I'm a huge Volvo enthusiast and finally you put it together in one video!!! such a shame the brand is leaving gas powered cars :(

@Patrick76496 5 months ago

10:19 first generation Volvo S40 mentioned! finally someone on the internet lol

@CotTran-ig5fj 3 months ago (edited)

Polestar it's basically the concept of "Oshi No Ko" in the auto industry, because if you look at the real history of Polestar, it's was started as a racing team (now going to be a EV brand) (the same thing similar to the storyline of Oshi No Ko).
Also: the original name of Polestar's predecessor is Flash Engineering.
Your video is too good, impressive!
Polestar's first car (Polestar 1) it's also the reflection image of Hoshino Ai (Oshi No Ko main character) in the auto industry.

@CoveofEzzy 5 months ago

Great video as always!

@palosnes3147 5 months ago

If the 850 were RWD with the same engine rotated 90 degrees it would slaughter. The only thing keeping me from attacking corners with my 850 at max speed is understeer.

@arvid_ericsson 5 months ago (edited)

There's gonna be a 700hp Volvo SUV coming late this year, it will however be a full BEV. One of my current project cars is a big turbo Volvo 940 sedan and I love it, will probably get a modern Volvo as a nice daily in the future

@prose1733 5 months ago

Corrections.

16.15. The engine in the C30 Polestar was actuallt a Ford Focus RS MKII engine.

The "Updated" MY17 Polestar that came in 2016 was not really a diversion. The new powertrain included with the polestar developed 4 cyl engine is lower weight, much more agile and significantly faster and Polrstar had already been racing the 4 cyl VEA for several years by then. Volvo however had not a validated AWD driveline available untill 2016 hence why they were forced to use the inferior standard 6 cyl engine.