Volvo 480 ES celebrates 25th anniversary

On October 15, 1985 Volvo presented the first picture of what was to become the brand’s first series-produced front-wheel drive car: the 480 ES. At the time the model marked the beginning of a new technical era and it is now celebrating its 25th anniversary. Since 1998 all Volvos are either front- or four-wheeldriven.

The Volvo 480 ES was a result of project Galaxy, a strategic product planning project for the future of Volvo cars. The project contained several suggestions for future replacements of the 340/360 cars, the 240 line-up and the 760/740 models for a long time period. The 400 and 850 cars were the result of the Galaxy.

Coming out from Volvo Car B.V., the 480 ES was the first model of a new generation that was created at Volvo Car Corporation's Dutch subsidiary, in the Born plant. Besides the technical layout with front-wheel drive the 480 ES was also sleek and boldy wedge-shaped, a 2 + 2 seater with its rear body shaped like an estate car and a glass tailgate.

The 480 ES also featured pop-up headlamps and the classic Volvo grille with its diagonal ribbon. Its exterior was designed by Dutchman John De Vries with Briton Peter Horbury taking care of the interior.

The Geneva Motor Show was the set chosen by Volvo for the official presentation of the 480 ES. Besides the looks it was also a good roadcar. It was powered by a 1.7 litre SOHC Renault unit with electronic fuel-injection, installed transversely in the 480.

The 480 ES also featured a lot of practical and persona solutions. A lot of them were electronically controlled which in turn caused its fair bit of reliability problems. At the time it was launched the 480 ES was competitively priced at SEK 120,000 incl.taxes.

In 1988 the 480 was added more power in the form of turbocharging. The Volvo 480 Turbo featured an electronically-controlled turbocharger unit with intercooler which raised power output to 120 hp, delivering a top speed of 200 km/h. 1993 saw the normally-aspirated engine be enlarged to 2 litres. This resulted in a power output of 110 hp and improved torque characteristics.

The 1990 Geneva Motorshow saw the debut of a prototype convertible which never reached production. However both prototypes that were built still figure at Volvo’s Museum. Other design studies were also built and have also been saved for the future. Among them are targatop and fastback concepts.

The last 480 rolled off the line in Born at the same time as the new S40 compact was introduced on September 7, 1995, starting a whole new technical generation.