The Volvos that normally grace the pixellated universe of Shed of the Week are usually boxy beasts such as the 850 T5 estate or saloon, so the appearance of a muscular Volvo coupe as SOTW represents quite a departure for Shed.
The C70 was born at a time in Volvo's history when it was going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. Tom Walkinshaw had turned the boxy 850 estate and saloon into a successful touring car racer, while the roadgoing 850 T5 was getting a reputation as a proper Tarmac-shredder.
So with the unveiling in 1997 of the sleek-yet-beefy C70 coupe, penned by Volvo's British chief designer Peter Horbury, Volvo's image as a purveyor of capacious Labrador-filled boxes was changed forever.
The headline C70 was the 240bhp 2.3-litre T5, but those tend to remain - for the moment - out of the reach of Shed's bag-of-sand budget, so we'll content ourselves here with the 2435cc light-pressure turbo model and its rather more meagre 193bhp.
That would still have been enough to propel a factory-fresh example to 62mph from rest in a respectable 8.5secs on the way to a 137mph maximum -and without the torque steer histrionics that characterised the T5 version.
Editor Chris-R ran one for a year back when he was a fresh-faced yoof (albeit the T5 version) and reckons they make an excellent and rapid motorway cruiser with really comfy seats and a refined ride, but that the front wheels are indeed 'massively unruly' on the T5. Good thing we've found the slower model then...
Chris-R also offers a word of warning - C70s were effectively coachbuilt by TWR and so small bumps and dings can often result in massive bills, which makes the vendor's admission that the bodywork is 'not brilliant' a little alarming.
Even more concerning is the lack of service history, especially on a 133,000-mile example of a car that has a bit of a rep for its gadgets expiring expensively.
Having said that, it is a lot of car for the money, and who could resist that wonderful metallic burnt orange...?
Advert is reproduced below
Shed for Sale!! 2.5 Turbo (1998)
133,000 miles £995
Volvo c70 2.5 turbo. 133000miles. Mechanically sound. Lots of MOT(till Aug 2011) and 6 months tax. Hpi clear. Bodywork not brilliant and no service history, hence the price. Alloys. 4 good tyres. Elec seats, half leather. Cruise control. Gorgeous looking car. Air Con(just had re-gas) Last 8 yrs MOT certificates.