Volvo 850 T-5R | PH Auction Block

Heaps of BTCC appeal and major dog carrying potential - the 850 T-5R has it all

Only in the BTCC will you find an estate competing for outright victory. It wasn’t that long ago when the Subaru Levorg Sports Tourer was dominating the series; apparently, its blocky estate shape gave it an aerodynamic edge over the rest of the field. Then there was the Honda Civic Tourer, which admittedly wasn’t as competitive as the Type Rs fielded before and since yet the estate’s single season in 2014 did at least yield a handful of victories and third place in the final standings. They may only be there because the marketing team says so, but racing is a better place when wagons are in the mix.

And they don’t get much cooler than the Volvo 850. Though it wasn’t especially successful, the 850 estate’s sole season in the series was enough to cement it as one of the most iconic BTCC cars of all time. Boxy proportions, a striking livery, and, above all, the devilish sound emitted by the naturally aspirated inline-five engine. Now, Volvo estates have always been cool, but watching the 850 rub door handles with Alfa 155s, BMW 3 Series and Renault Lagunas during the 1994 championship added some serious kudos points. A year later, Volvo launched the 850 T-5R like the one we have here, bringing five-cylinder BTCC wagon goodness to the public.

In all honesty, the T-5R didn’t share much in common with the touring car. The racer had a trick TWR-developed atmospheric engine while the T-5R used the same 2.3-litre motor front the 850 Turbo, albeit with Porsche helping tune the ECU to deliver more boost pressure. However, the T-5R packed quite a punch with 243hp on tap and 250lb ft of torque, all of which was sent to the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or, as is the case with this particular car, a four-speed automatic. Impressively, that translated to a 0-62mph time in the six-second region and limited top speed of just over 150mph. Bonkers numbers for a Volvo at the time. 

On the chassis side, Porsche also assisted with tuning the suspension but it’s otherwise identical to that of the T5. The interior did however receive numerous tweaks, such as sportier seats that, again, were developed in collaboration with Porsche. Some welcome flair was added courtesy of a sportier bodykit, too, which included a deeper front bumper and rear wing. Pair that with the smokey five-spoke alloy wheels and you get one moody-looking wagon indeed.

That’s certainly the case with the one we have here, as it’s finished in the highly desirable shade of Olive Green. It’s believed that 400 cars were allocated to the UK, of which 113 were in this combo of the estate body, green and with the auto ‘box, but as you can imagine there are far fewer three decades later. HowManyLeft puts the number of autos on the road in the mid 30s, making this particulate spec a seriously rare one.

And that’s worth bearing in mind when considering the £22,000 - £24,000 guide price. Yes, it may not have the more desirable manual ‘box and has covered a fair few miles at 121,611, but these have been on the radar of collectors for several years now, particularly one that hasn’t been mucked about with and looks to be in good condition. The sale includes a stacked history file and ‘a fully stamped’ service book, while recent work was carried out on overhauling the brakes. So it’s ready to hit the road and for you to unleash your inner BTCC driver, as long as you end the auction on top when bidding closes on Saturday 18th.

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