1996 Volvo 850R – Classified of the Week
July 26, 2022
We bloody love a Volvo here at Car & Classic. We have a project 940 estate on fleet if you don’t believe us. We’re also partial to forced induction, either in turbo or supercharger form. And sleeper cars? Well, the thought of embarrassing much more exotic fare in a bone stock looking everyday classic gives us all the feels. So, when we saw this 1996 Volvo 850R pop up for sale on our classifieds you can imagine in which direction our excitement levels went. Through the roof, in case you were still wondering.
The 850R was a continuation of Volvo’s already excellent 850 T5-R – a limited production run of its 850 compact saloon and estate that featured a tweaked version of the B5234T5, turbocharged engine. With a trick ECU and additional boost pressure these cars produced around 240bhp and were instantly inaugurated into the sleeper hall of fame.
Volvo recognised that there was indeed a market for performance versions of its cars, clearly taking cues from rival German manufacturer BMW and the M cars that were coming out of Bavaria, and so following the success of the 850 T5-R it introduced the 850R in ’96. Again, this pumped up version of the 850 was available in saloon or estate guise and with the same turbocharged, five-cylinder engine from the previous T5-R but now producing 250bhp, the 850R could get to 60mph from parked in less than seven seconds and on to a top speed of almost 160mph. Cracking.
On to the car in question then. It’s a 1996 Volvo 850R in Dark Grey Pearl paint – one of only six colours available from the factory. Unfortunately the advert is a little lacking in detail (perhaps the seller should have read our article on writing the perfect listing) but what we do know is that the car has been serviced and maintained annually, with OEM and/or Volvo parts and is stored indoors when not in use. It has been with the current owner for seven years and a quick perusal of its MOT history shows only minor issues – brake discs, CV boots, headlamp, tyres and the like and the current MOT is valid until March 2023.
With 185K on the clock it has certainly seen some things but the 2.3-litre, five-cylinder engines fitted to these cars are incredibly robust, as is the TD04HL-16T turbocharger and with no mention of any tweaks or performance mods in the write-up it can be assumed that the motor remains unstressed but this would obviously need to be confirmed by an inspection and test drive. The seller states the car is by no means concours but does scrub up well and the pictures do show a pretty tidy looking 850R. Along with the rather lacklustre wording the photos are also quite limited but at £8,000 and a Midlands location it’s certainly worth a closer look. A full paint correction, along with some form of bumper restorative work would do wonders and with such a limited number of these cars available your interest should be well and truly piqued.
The Volvo 850R remains a true legend. Not just because of it’s fantastic performance credentials and iconic Q-Car status but also because of the motorsport kudos associated with these cars and what Volvo achieved in the British Touring Car Championship. With its now famous blue and white liveried 850 race cars Volvo was successful in the BTCC from the outset, culminating in an overall win in ’98, proving that Volvo’s weren’t just boring grocery-getters for the elderly. Here was stone cold proof that a Volvo was not only a safe and practical car but it could also be incredibly exciting too and this 1996 Volvo 850R is testament to that ethos.
