Volvo 240 Gets Modernized in Rendering Video, Looks Like an iPhone with Wheels

While Italian automakers were focused on cars that looked like impossibly low wedges, Volvo only cared about one thing, and that's safety. It had pedestrian-friendly bumpers, reinforcements in the doors for when somebody hit you and a prototype/concept also came with a rear-view camera.

That's not all. When you crashed, the engine and gearbox were designed to slide down instead of going into the cabin, potentially killing you. The Swedes also pioneered collapsable steering, so it's safe to say the Volvo 240 was one of the safest places to be in at that time. It was so safe, in fact, that the automaker says it routinely got letters from owners thanking them for saving their lives in crashes.

Volvo didn't think much about performance, and the 240 usually had a four-cylinder with 100 horsepower or less. To comply with new emissions regulations in America, the company had to adapt its small powerplant to fuel injection. Oh, but what about that diesel thing? Well, as a result of the fuel crisis of the 1970s, Volvo had to borrow a six-cylinder diesel from Volkswagen.

But the 240 only reached its full potential the next decade, when the focus moved to turbochargin' and racin'. When you see a box racing against some of the best touring cars in the world, it's hard not to pay attention.

The 240 lived a full life and was never forgotten. Builders in Europe still try to do insane engine swaps. But Volvo's cars stopped looking like this iconic model, and rendering artist TheSketchMonkey decided to fix the problem by making his own 2020 version, modern yet boxy. It's shaped like an iPhone with wheels, making it hard to ignore.