By Antti Kautonen
The Italian Used Car Weekend continues, and yet again I’m rolling out another Mediterranian special model. This 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R is extremely rare in this specification, as it’s a forest green manual T-5R. Originally, T-5R 850s were only available in either canary yellow or black except for a short 500-piece run of green cars, and it appears these Italian models are more often green than yellow.
And as befits, the engine is a 2.0-litre Italian version instead of the usual 2.3-litre one. The power output is mentioned in the ad to be 218hp, but other sources note it as the same 225hp as the regular car.
I am a big fan of the 850 T-5R. Somehow the rounded square design works extremely well, and with the deep chin spoiler and the green colour it’s just the perfect blend of utilitarian wagon and prestige autostrada fleet destroyer. It just goes, goes and goes.
And of course, the way the green 850R was treated in the Nile Top Gear Special was just redundantly ridiculous in my opinion.
Somehow, I do think the brand new Toyo rubber on this car might be a slightly wrong size, as the rear tires appear unsuitably low in profile. But the graphite, five-spoke wheels are just the perfect design.
Inside, you get black leather, dark wood and the correct Volvo concert radio. This 5500-euro car has only done 185 000 km, which for a Volvo is pleasantly low still.
The car is advertised as accident free, which in Italy really counts. The Volvo also comes with a full service history, and is described as being in “splendid” condition.
Jeff Glucker
Now we're talking! Italy had a lot of special cars from Volvo, displacement usually being capped at 2.0 litre. This one I would take in a heartbeat, even the price seems reasonable.
From the 80s to the first of the 90s, if you wanted to buy a car with an engine bigger than 2 liter (2.5 for diesels), the VAT was 38% instead of 18%. That's why many cars had a 2 liter turbo engine (Lancia Delta, Thema, Alfa 75, 164, Maserati Biturbo, …). Still today cars with an engine of 2 liter or more are considered an overkill.
Thanks for putting some meat into that comment! 🙂
I once considered to import a mint '98 945 with a B200FT engine from Germany to Norway. It was a gorgeous car and during the "cash for clunkers"-programme, the value of even these timeless pieces of perfection fell a lot. I ended up not buying it because the import duty would have been well north of 6000$ and because no one up here had ever touched that engine.
Btw, totally agree that for everyday use, a 2 litre engine does the job.
It also appears this car has working air conditioning since all three dials are set to nine o'clock, which means 22°C and auto mode. It's one of those little details you should look for when browsing adverts for these cars. If the left and right dials are set to full cold (six o'clock) and the fan speed is set to somewhere in the middle rather than to the far left (auto) you can be pretty sure the A/C doesn't blow cold anymore. Not an uncommon problem on these cars, unfortunately.
Of course, it could also be that the seller put some care and attention into his photos.
Well observed! Living in a humid climate I am also used to check if ventilation is on or not. I have seen a lot of seats and door fillers that have come to life, and I strongly dislike living furniture.
As much as I want to like the T5Rs, I just know that the suspension in these will be unnecessarily harsh so as to cancel out any advantage of power increase.
This is only slightly ontopic, but is there a wave of green-station-wagon-cool to be detected online?
<img src="http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/plugins/PostviaEmail/images/1979_Volvo_240_Wagon_For_Sale_resize.jpg" width="600">
<img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/25/automobiles/wheels/rolls-wagon/rolls-wagon-blog480.jpg" width="600">
That's right, and coming soon to a Hooniverse article near you!
Good.
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes…
<img src="http://blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2010/10/1972ChryslerTownCountry_01_700.jpg">
So that's my three wishes, dear fairy.
Pegasus wheels FTW! iPd is offering replicas of these in Hyper Silver and Matte Black. One of the best Volvo wheels ever.
i may be the only person in the world who prefers perfos or columbos to pegs on an 850/S70/V70
That's a scary looking car. Something about the rear wheel location looks off, like the axle has shifted or the rear suspension is perished or bent. The bodywork doesn't exactly present any consistent light lines either, and I don't remember these Volvos being like the new Fusion in that sense.
I think it's just cause they're lower profile tires. I think they came like that too Antii. And that's how the body was, just last summer I looked at some pristine 850Rs at a Volvo meet and there is some bulging in the front fenders, doors, and hood.