Introduced in June 1991 under the banner of “a dynamic car with four world-beating breakthroughs,” the boxy-shaped 850 is one of the most significant cars ever made by Volvo. On its 25th birthday, we'll talk you through what made the Volvo 850 great.
Those four firsts mentioned earlier are the self-adjusting front seat belt, integrated side-impact protection system, a unique design of semi-independent rear suspension, and transverse 5-cylinder mill. My favorite of the lot is the Delta-link rear axle. As simply put as possible, this suspension system employs rear axle bushings that compress under load. By doing that, the Volvo 850 boasts with passive rear steering and a tight turning circle.
From 1991 to 1996, Volvo manufactured no less than 716,903 examples of the 850 breed. Jan Wilsgaard, the designer of the 850, also penned the Amazon, 140, 200, 740, 760, and 780. The wagon showed up in February 1993, pioneering the extended vertical taillights design that is still used by Volvo today.
Be that as it may, the most important year for the 850 was 1994, the year Volvo introduced the T-5R. With its yellow paint and force-fed 2.3-liter inline-5 engine, this baby was the hottest wagon around.
1994 also saw Volvo take the 850 Wagon to the racetrack. The first race of the 1994 British Touring Car Championship is where Volvo and Tom Walkinshaw Racing debuted a station wagon in one of the most prestigious racing series in the world. In 1995, the wagon body style was kicked out from the BTCC.
Another model we should pay our respects to is the 1996 Volvo 850 AWD, the first Volvo passenger car with four-wheel-drive. Thanks to a viscous coupling that automatically distributes the power between the front and rear wheels, the 850 AWD is the spiritual predecessor of the XC family, including the magnificent XC90. Another highlight is the TRACS anti-spin system. How does it work, you ask? If one of the rear wheels starts to spin, TRACS distributes the power between the front wheels to the one with the best grip.
In 1997, the 850 underwent a major update, which is why Volvo changed the designation to S70 for the sedan and V70 for the station wagon. 1,360,522 vehicles were built in model versions originating from the 850 series. The S70 and V70 were redesigned from a clean sheet of paper in 2000, and that was that.
When all is said and done, happy 25th birthday and here’s looking up to you, Volvo 850!
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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