Remember when Volvo offered a car with pop-up
headlights? It was the Volvo 480, the company’s first front-drive model that
debuted in 1986.
The 480 is essentially the predecessor of the C30,
adopting a radical but cool styling language at a time when the Swedish car
maker was best known for its boxy large cars. It offered four seats, a glass
hatch and still rocked the classic Volvo grille, only it was mounted under the
bumper.
You can safely say that it was a pretty radical car
for Volvo. Apparently, someone thought the same and kept this particular
example in an unused condition since 1987, with the tachometer showing the
original delivery mileage: just 68 km.
This 480ES has been stored in a private collection
for 29 years, making it perhaps the only example in this condition. It may not
be your usual classic car, but if you’re a Volvo enthusiast or simply a retro
fan, it might hit a spot or two.
Despite its sporty looks, performance was modest at
best as under the bonnet lies a Renault-sourced 1.7-liter four-cylinder with
109 hp. Volvo added a turbo in 1988, which raised the power to 120 hp, but still
you wouldn’t call it a hot hatch. Later models replaced the 1.7-liter engine
with a bigger 2.0-liter that offered 110 hp, just one more than before, but
torque was much improved.
The car in question is located in London and is
currently advertised on Car and Classic for the price of £ 19,950 (US$ 26,500). Is it worth it? That’s highly subjective,
but still, we doubt you’d find another one in this condition.
