Wednesday 8th November 2017

Volvo 850 R: Spotted

Take BTCC heritage, add a rare manual-plus-LSD combo, and multiply by today's classic car market for this £20k nineties estate...

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For PHers of a certain generation, the boxy sight of a 90's Volvo estate will always conjure up images of blue and white 850s springing over the curbs of the BTCC. In the case of today's Spotted though, the performance lives up to the visual - and offers its new owner plenty of opportunity to unleash their inner Jan Lammers.

The 850 R was of course born out of the success of the T-5R, and there are certainly worse places to originate from. Its five-cylinder, 2.3-litre engine sent 240hp and 240lb ft of torque to the front wheels through a four-speed automatic 'box, whisking the occupants to 60 in 7.4 seconds. This car, however, is a rarer manual example and as such it boasts 250hp and 260lb ft of torque, reducing that figure by almost a full second - remember when a human was better at handling gears than a computer...?

It also comes with a limited slip differential and sport suspension with self-leveling rear shock absorbers. Being a Volvo, it had to be safe and comfortable too though, so you'll get anti-lock brakes; traction, cruise, and climate control; four airbags - the T-5R being the first car to introduce such a thing as standard - and heated electric memory seats.

Outside, the Olive Green paint with metallic gold flake and 17-inch Volan wheels make it look like the ultimate sleeper that it was. While inside the Alcantara and leather interior apparently "belies its age and mileage". As for consumables, well the 850 R was notorious for eating its tyres, but here the Yokohamas are described as showing plenty of tread - and there's apparently "plenty of disc and pad material remaining" when it comes to the brakes, too.

With the car having undergone a major service upon arrival from Japan - including new timing and auxiliary belts - it looks to be in as good a condition as you could ever hope for. Which it ought to be, given the price.

Howmanyleft.com reckons there are just 75 850 Rs still registered in the UK, and this must surely have a strong claim to be among the finest left. Whether it's worth £20,000 is another matter - but as far as fast estates go, it's certainly one of the most iconic.

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VOLVO 850R
Engine: 2,319cc, turbocharged 5cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 253@5,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 258@2,400-5,000rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1996
Recorded mileage: 40,000 miles
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £19,995

See the original advert here

[aaron_2000]

£7K less for the saloon

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[aaron_2000]

Raramuri said:

I remember looking at these for Shed money (new rules) around 6-7 years ago, thinking they would be a laugh at disposable prices. 20k is insanity - anyone stupid enough to part with that much for one deserves this crazy price bubble to pop on them!

Only a few years back, they had one on Top Gear for £1500. It's a good car, but not at M3 pricing.

[aaron_2000]

Davie said:

Yup, that was mine... and I didn't pay £1500 for it int he first place which makes the fact they're now asking £20k even more insane!

Wow must've been sad seeing that happen to it

[aaron_2000]

blade7 said:

The 850 estate didn't win any BTCC races though.

Think the Vectra did twice right?