Most automakers are built on various principles. Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce, for example, always sought to give their customers luxurious and serene transportation since the very beginning. Lotus has always been about providing the best driving experience possible. Toyota and Honda have always been about no-nonsense, reliable, economical cars. Volvo, founded in 1927 in Sweden, was built upon one key pillar that no one else dared to explore back then; safety.
Volvo was the first automaker to truly take safety in cars seriously, and it paid off for them. They quite literally invented the three-point seatbelt in 1958, and since then, they've led the way in safety innovations. Today, Volvo is mostly known for their innovations in safety, and a lot of people sometimes forget that this Swedish automaker has made quite a few cool cars in the past. But, make quite a few cool cars, they did.
10 Amazon (P130)
The Amazon, also known as the P130, is one of the most well-known classic Volvo models. It looks fantastic, thanks to the designer taking inspiration from American cars of the 50s. It was produced in various different body styles, including a two-door coupe and the awesome station wagon.
Interestingly, it was called the Amazon only in Sweden, due to some naming rights conflicts, adopting some combination of the 100 number overseas. By 1958, and with the introduction of the Sport model, the Amazon became the first production car in the world to include seat belts as standard. Oh, and it was great fun to drive too.
9 1800ES
Later on, the Amazon's platform and underpinnings were used to create one of the most famous sporty Volvo models; the P1800. However, while the P1800 is cool on its own, the 1800ES is definitely worth noting, thanks to the achingly cool shooting brake body.
The ES version was produced towards the end of the production run, making it a lot rarer. This line of Volvo sports cars is most notable for being the vehicle of choice for Roger Moore's character in the TV show The Saint. It's also known for being basically indestructible; you may know the story of the P1800 that has clocked up 3 million miles and is still going strong.
8 240-Series
This is the car that most people associate with the Volvo brand. One of the most successful and awesome products ever made by the Swedish automaker, the 240 Series soldiered on for 19 years, clocking up over 2.8 million sales in that time.
A variety of powertrains were available, including a pair of diesels that people have, rather famously, converted to run on actual vegetable oil. There was also the excellent 242 Turbo model, and the station wagon that is often described as the Nokia 3310 of the automotive world, due to it being completely indestructible.
7 480ES
The 480ES was a leap of faith for Volvo when it was introduced in the mid 80s. First of all, it was the brand's first ever FWD model. It featured unusual styling, with a coupe/shooting brake exterior, two doors and a 2+2 seating layout. It was actually marketed as a coupe in Europe.
The 480ES almost made it Stateside, but the weakening US dollar at the time made Volvo change their minds. Over the years, due to its exclusivity and its great dynamics, the 480ES has amassed a bit of a cult following. Not to mention; pop-up headlights.
6 780 Coupe
What happens when Volvo gives the job of designing a luxury coupe to famous Italian styling house Bertone. The 780 Coupe. Actually, Bertone didn't just design the Coupe, but they also built it at their facility in Turin, Italy. It still used the Volvo 700 series platform, but it had this fantastic coupe body over the top.
It was produced for a short amount of time, from 1986 to 1990, and not many units were sold in that time. As a result, the gorgeous 780 is quite a rare car, but they still haven't gone up in price all that much yet, so if you want an interesting piece of Volvo history, it's definitely worth checking out. That's, if you can find one.
5 850R
By the early 90s, Audi successfully started the fast station wagon craze. Since Volvo's station wagons are considered to be top tier, Volvo decided to join in on the party. They took their 850 wagon, beefed up the turbocharged five-cylinder engine, and created the 850R.
The 850R was spun off from the limited edition, testing-the-waters 850 T5-R. It was available as either a sedan or a wagon, and it featured various enhancements when compared to the T5-R. The 850R had a beefed up clutch, a new turbocharger and a heavy duty manual transmission on non-North America models. The manual cars also came with a viscous-coupling LSD, ensuring a spectacular driving experience.
4 V70 R
With the success of the 850R, Volvo decided to take their fast wagon business even further. The next in line was the V70 R, the first generation of which was introduced in 1997, and the second one in 2003. The exterior was very unassuming; to the untrained eye, this was just a big Volvo wagon, but that was part of the fun.
Under the skin, this was no regular Volvo wagon. It used a 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine developing 300 hp, which was sent to all four wheels through either a six-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic and a Haldex AWD system. While it didn't offer BMW-style oversteer antics, it was a solid and fun to drive performance wagon.
3 C30 T5
After Ford acquired Volvo (along with Aston Martin and Jaguar) in the 90s, Volvo finally had the parts bin clearance to build their first compact hatchback. Based on the Ford Focus platform, the C30 was introduced in 2006. It was only available with three doors, and it was definitely a great choice as far as compact cars were concerned.
Of course, hot hatchbacks were a pretty big deal in the mid to late 2000s, so Volvo decided to conjure up one of its own. The C30 T5 a turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine (the same as the second generation Focus ST and RS), which made 220 hp at first, and that was later boosted to 230. It was FWD, and came with either a 6-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic transmission.
2 P1800 Cyan
Volvo's racing arms are a little confusing. Without getting too technical, Cyan Racing is the remnants of what used to be Polestar, whereas Polestar is now a spinoff EV manufacturer. In 2021, Cyan Racing put together a tribute band car, not unlike Singer Porsche 911s and, more recently, stuff like the Kimera EVO37.
The Cyan Racing P1800 was indeed based on a P1800, but it was beefed up and modernized, ready to hit the track. With a touring car-sourced turbo four under the hood making 400 hp, and no driver aids at all, the P1800 was simply designed to attack corners at the racetrack. It definitely worked, as Alex Kersten of Car Throttle was enthralled by it.
1 V90
Finally, we arrive to the present day and possibly the coolest car that Volvo sells right now. Unfortunately, North American buyers didn't seem to agree, as the regular V90 will be discontinued after the 2022 model year. That's a shame, because it's an excellent family wagon.
For one thing, it's possibly the best-looking station wagon on sale at the moment, and easily one of the best ever. It's practical, relaxing to drive, is full of technology, luxurious and well-priced for what it is. We'll be sad to see it go, but it's reassuring to know that even in the changing climates of the automotive industry, Volvo hasn't forgotten how to put together a spectacular station wagon.