Description
Only for sale due to the death of my husband - he would never have parted with his beloved turbo, and I have a turbo of my own.
Good points
64, 000 miles on the odometer which is supported by the mot history
MoT to 26 March 2027
fully restored by a trusted body shop in 2021 -all filler cut out and metal welded in
pampered in garages all her life having always been owned by pensioners
owned by us since 2015 since when she has only been on the road a few months in the summer then stored in a dry garage the rest of the year
all necessary repairs done as soon as needed by our pedantic garage man with the best quality parts available
turbo rebuilt shortly after we bought her
robou mod fitted - no longer available now robou has also died
Celebration full leather interior with correct carpets
Rear roller blind luggage cover
High level drinks tray armrest
Pollen filter
Pictor wheels
Paris edition Momo steering wheel
Limburg clock from the 30th anniversary meet
signed on the glove box lid by John de Vries (designer), Corien Pompe (colour & trim) and Rob Koch (head of design team)
replica number plates of the supplying dealer
original rear number plate, broken and glued tucked in the boot
Working rear left fog light
Sound deadening in doors and boot
Fully detailed and 2 year ceramic coated on 27th August 2025, collected just 6 hours before hubby had the fatal stroke
Document wallet detailing our ownership includes a signed photograph of K605 EWA (Eva) with John and Janny de Vries
Bad points
cat C write off in the history - see photos of the damage which was mainly cosmetic
Probably due to have the underside steam cleaned and re-waxed
Currently unable to find one rear side leather insert but hopefully it will turn up before a sale is agreed
Sparkly oil pressure gauge
the inevitable broken corner on the dash surround
offside pop up cover needs adjustingThe 480 has great road manners due to the suspension designed for it by Lotus. The engine block is a Renault diesel one but all 480s run on petrol so the engine is unburstable. The turbo conversion was done by Porsche who gave it 190 bhp. Volvo put their safety hats on and wound it back to just over 120 as they only wanted faster, safer overtaking. The robou mod boosts it to around 160 brake so well within Porsche's tolerance.
John de Vries' beautiful body design incorporates a low sleek bonnet so pop-ups had to be used to meet the minimum height required by law. Pop-ups are now illegal so there won't be any more cars designed with them or with the low sleek bonnets.
Because the 480 was Volvo's first front wheel drive car, they wanted lots of innovation incorporated in it. It was the first road car to offer ABS, the first car to close it's windows and sunroof on the key and has a dark entry function so you can set the lights to stay on for a short while after parking.
It also has all the Volvo safety features, so it offers a lot more than other classics from the same era.
If the broken corner on the dash surround bothers the new owner, replacements will be available in the not too distant future. Hubby and I have been working on a project with WR Composites to produce fibre glass replicas. The prototype I currently have is almost perfect, I just need to speak to Wayne to have a final few tweaks done.
We are / were both members of the Volvo 480 Club Europe, and all of ours cars have their own thread on the forum. This one was called Eva (Evil Eva after the robou was fitted) so her thread can be found under Rescuing Eva. It details her life with us, events she has been to and has lots more pictures. My forum name is dragonflyjewels.
Despite being my husband's car the V5 has always been in my name, and shows just 3 former keepers.
