How do you make a rear-wheel-drive, brick Volvo cooler? You slap a turbo on it, and if you happen to be Volvo themselves, I congratulate you on creating a really neat-looking, sharp-edged ship while you were at it.
This German-registered, metallic black Volvo 740 Turbo has had some aerodynamic improvements mounted at the factory, and they serve to improve the looks a lot – period correct style.


The Volvo was spotted on the Cologne street by a friend of Hooniverse, Joe, who often gets his phone camera out in time to catch some cool classics.
The facelift version was only sold from 1990 to 1992, before getting replaced by the 940. The turbo version here uses a Mitsubishi turbo charger instead of the earlier Garrett unit, and produces 162 horsepower.


Volvo really liked to badge the car the way any onlooker would get the message quickly.

Inside, there’s black leather and an automatic gearshift.

Directional five-spoke wheels complete the look. The Volvo hasn’t been the most obvious choice for a company car in Germany, 1990, but it’s stood out from the sea of W124s.
[Images: Joe W]