(rock music) The Volvo 480 shocked the buying public when
it launched. Surely Volvo was just boxy, boring cars? What are they doing making a sports
coupé? But this was the perfect halo car to entice a younger audience to their showrooms,
and Volvo had the perfect practical mid-size cars to sell them in the 440 and the 460.
So, why did Volvo release the coupé before their hatchback and saloon, and why didn’t
they make an estate? This is the Volvo 400 series Story. (music) The mid-sized 300 series that Volvo had inherited
from DAF had proved popular, so they started looking at a next generation model. They also
needed to develop a new large car, so Project Galaxy was born. It would be one platform
that could be shortened or lengthened to produce both cars.
Work began in 1978, and the first fruits of the team’s labour was the G4 prototype in
1980. Front wheel drive vehicles were proving popular, as mounting the engine transversely
and doing away with the driveshaft to the rear wheels meant space, weight and cost savings.
As the new medium-sized car needed to maximise space, this seemed like a good solution, but
this was Volvo’s first front wheel drive car and there would be much to learn.
In the wake of the fuel crisis of the early 1970s, the team was charged with maximising
fuel economy. But with no money for new engines, the team focused on new materials to reduce
weight. Although Volvo had briefly entertained the
notion of revising the 300 series with the Bertone-designed Tundra in 1979, by 1980 they
were happy enough with the internal G4 project to allow it to proceed. The platform would
be split at this point into the G1 medium-sized car, and the G2 larger-sized car that would
eventually appear as the Volvo 850. But with Volvo already planning a new large car, the
700 series that would appear in 1982, development of the smaller G1 began first at Volvo’s
new design centre in the Netherlands. The G1 programme was broken down into three different
versions – the G15 hatchback, G14 saloon, but it was G13 that was the most intriguing
– a coupé; the first since the 1800 ES ended production in 1973. Volvo wanted to
show it was more than simply boxy, sensible cars, and to attract younger customers.
Surprisingly the first car to be developed was the G13 coupé, but it made perfect sense.
Volvo didn’t sell a coupé so this would only add to their range, and by launching
this lower volume model first they could iron out the bugs in the G1 platform before launching
the mainstream saloon and hatchback. Some cars’ poor reliability at launch has sunk
them, so this was an astute move to ensure that the saloon and the hatchback hit the
ground running. Volvo also had its eyes on the lucrative North
American market. The 200 series was selling well there, and a larger range, including
a sporty coupé could only help. Initial sketches were made and were sent to
the Coggiola and Bertone design studios, with Bertone submitting a bid. Volvo in Sweden
made two designs, by Rolf Malmgren and Volvo’s chief designer Jan Wilsgaard, and Volvo in
the Netherlands also submitted a proposal from John de Vries.
The stakes were high for the Dutch Volvo office. If they didn’t get this, then their very
existence would be in doubt, as this was the only car that they were working on. They put
their all into the effort, and although competition was fierce, they won out, despite the criticism
of Volvo’s lead designer, Jan Wiilsgaard. John de Vries’ shape had echoes of the 1800
ES, with a large sloping rear window, and side window arrangement with a small front
quarterlight. It helped that the winning design was more rounded than the competition of course.
Ford had already shown Sierra concepts, and it was clear rounded shapes would be in fashion
for the 1980s. Although John de Vries was the design lead,
later on in the G13 program, that would become the 480, he returned to DAF and was replaced
as design lead by Steve Harper. Steve’s been kind enough to sit down for an interview,
and here he talks about the design of the front end:
The original intention from day one had been to go to the US. The pop-up lamp was still
very, much on vogue and still very much the sign of the sports cars. However, there were
facelift proposals done later whereby the headlamps could have been made into the area
where the driving lamp is. The problem was when the 480 was originally conceived the
US lighting regulations basically only allowed for two headlamps that that was the round
7” (18cm), maybe 3 and maybe the 5 and 5½” (14cm), and the rectangular one which appeared
on many cars during the kind of 70s and 80s, and that was because you could buy them in
any corner store or whatever. So, the ability to be able to put one of those into the 480
just didn’t exist. It would have just kind of completely spoiled the front end, so that’s
why they decided to stay with the pop-up lamps. The US also had height regulations for the
main headlamps, and this must also have played a part in making them “pop-ups”, as they
were keen the car should have a low, sporty, swooping nose. Large bumpers were added to
ensure they passed the US crash tests that stipulated they could survive a 5mph (8 km/h)
crash without any damage. The Volvo 300 series had used a Renault engine.
With Volvo not producing engines small enough for its successor, it was agreed it would
continue to use both Renault engines and transmissions. The stock engine needed more power – at
least for a sports coupé, so Volvo approached Porsche’s development division to tune it.
But there’s only so much they could do with the Renault 1.7L engine. The final output
was 109hp (81 kW), which when installed in the 480 was good for a 0-60 time just under
10 seconds. The DAF CVT gearbox disappeared to be replaced with a more traditional automatic,
and the Lotus-tuned suspension gave this front wheel drive car superb, predictable handling.
There was continual interest from Volvo’s management about making sure this very un-Volvo
looking like car was more “Volvo-like”. Designers had to conform to Volvo’s “Blue
Book” of rules and regulations, but another problem the low-slung front gave designers
was how to incorporate the classic Volvo logo. One thing that we did have was just a Volvo
diagonal sitting above the bumper, and on that front panel, and it was felt that it
wasn’t significant enough. So, I was asked to come up with another solution to give it
more presence. While at British Leyland, Roy Axe had taken over from David Bache, and I
think we’d been doing the MG EX-E, and Roy brought his Ferrari 308 in that one day into
the studio and one of the key things on the Ferraris at the time was their low set grille
with the Ferrari badge in the middle of the low set grille. So, I did the famous sketch
where I put Volvo grille underneath the bumper with the diagonal, and that was chosen as
the face of the 480 as a more Volvo type design. So, that was probably my biggest influence
and it caused shockwaves throughout the Volvo fraternity because “how dare you put the
Volvo badge underneath the bumper – that’s the dirty area!”.
I then used the fog lamps down below to create the kind of classic grille and lamp. Oh right.
It was an upside-down Volvo! But just because the 480 was a low, sporty
car, this didn’t mean Volvo were scrimping on safety. It included crumple zones front
and rear, side impact bars, and a raised 3rd rear light in the rear window that could be
seen from much further away. To maximise the interior space while keeping
a tight shape, the doors were so thin at the door handle there wasn’t room to fit the
lock, so it was moved next to the glass. Inside, the interior designed by Peter Horbury would
be upmarket, and modern. The car was tricked out with modern features like a high-tech
trip computer. But safety inside was also a top focus. Like the VW Golf released around
this time, the controls would be mounted up high to reduce the amount of time the driver
needs to look away from the road. Instead of a rear bench seat, the two passengers
got separate seats, and each was adjustable just like in the front. They could also be
folded down to give a good amount of storage, making the 480 as practical as its competitor,
the Volkswagen Scirocco. There was a hope that Volvo could take the
480 racing. Rob Koch, head of Volvo’s office in the Netherlands used to run the Volvo motorsport
team. A concept design was created, again by Steve Harper, but it remained just a pipe
dream. The 480 ES was launched in October 1985. The
“ES” was a nod to its forerunner, the 1800 ES. The car took the motoring press by
surprise – a sporty-looking Volvo! And this was built by the people who’d brought us
the 300 series, driven by flat-capped pensioners. It would take eighteen months until customers
got to drive them, and when they did, they found problems. The electronics were a little
too complex and was causing issues, the steering had worrying lockups without warning, and
there were leaks from hoses in the engine bay. This would delay the next car to be launched
– the 440 hatchback, but Volvo’s plan of launching a low volume car to iron out
the kinks had worked. The hatchback and saloon would launch without major problems.
Talking of the 440, development had begun around the same time as the 480. With the
world moving to hatchbacks, it was hoped this would be a popular model, going up against
mainstream cars such as the Ford Sierra, Volkswagen Passat and Vauxhall Cavalier. The design would
take inspiration not just from the original G4, but also from the newly launched 700 series,
and Volvo was keen for there to be a strong family resemblance.
With development resources stretched in the Netherlands, some of the work was offloaded
to England. The engineering has been done by IAD in Worthing
in England. They had been working over in Holland and then they'd moved the engineering
operations back to Worthing so there was me as the English guy working in Holland and
then having to go on business trips back down back to England. So, I got christened as Stefan
van Haarper as "The Flying Dutchman" or should we say "The Flying Englishman"!
The same Renault 1.7L engine would be used but this time with the option of fuel injection
and a Turbo, that also showed up in the 480. Unfortunately, despite the fancy turbo dial
on the dashboard, these changes did little to enliven the engine, bringing the 0-60 time
on the sporty 480 down to just 9 seconds, with a few extra mph added to the top speed.
It wasn’t just the engines that were common across the 440 and the 480. Many components
were shared to reduce costs, and of course ensure that they were reliable when the 440
was eventually launched. Inside, the 440 got a regular rear bench seat
to allow three kids to sit in comfort. Interior parts were shared with the 480, and it was
all pretty high-end stuff. The front seats and side mirrors were heated and electrified,
and those kids in the back even got their own reading lights.
While the 440 was being finalised, thoughts turned to a 480 cabriolet. There were a bunch
of 480 prototypes sitting around, and with the roof cut off they’d make excellent prototypes
for an open top. Steve Harper took up the challenge of turning the idea into reality:
And that's when i started to do the proposals for the Cabrio, because I felt that it just
needed to have something added to it to give it that a bit more dynamic sporting appeal,
especially as they were still umming and aaring about whether to go to the US or not, and
I felt the convertible was the classic car for California and I tried the short wheelbase
and the standard wheelbase version. Four seaters and two seaters. Myself and another designer
called Cor Steenstra were involved in it and we prepared and produced the first mock-ups
/ clay models and they were all in the studio and Rob Koch he showed everybody around and
everybody was totally into it, and then they took the photographs up to Sweden. And it
was like "how dare you do a convertible!" "you can't have convertibles, we're Volvo!".
So that's when the Targa bar came in as an integral part of the design.
The decision was made to make the car a two-seater with storage in the rear. To be sure the car
would work as an open top, Volvo worked with the American Sunroof Company who’d had years
of experience stiffening up chassis that didn’t take kindly to having the roof chopped off.
As Steve mentioned, it was always an uphill struggle getting the car to market, but the
concept was shown at the 1990 Geneva Motorshow with production slated to start later that
year. But production got delayed, and the company meant to produce it went bankrupt.
An alternative company was found, but the price to make it would have been too high.
Thoughts of releasing the 480 Cabrio were shelved, and the concept car was pushed into
Volvo’s Gothenburg museum. But that didn’t stop some Volvo executives using the remaining
handful of 480 Cabrio’s for their daily drivers! Volvo had hoped to sell the 400 series in North America, but the US exchange rate in
the late 1980s meant that they couldn’t turn a profit. Without this lucrative market,
it was going to be harder to recoup the cost of development.
The 440 hatchback launched in 1988. In classic Volvo tradition, the 300 series continued
in production as a cheaper model to amortise its cost. But Volvo still had to complete
one extra model – the 460 saloon that was aimed squarely at the UK market that had so
loved the 300 series saloon. Steve Harper again led the design, which had some very
unique requirements! Volvo was all about… I'm not joking when
I say you know you have to get a couple of boxes of IKEA definitely into the back of
the vehicle! So, the trunk needs to be a certain width to be able to get things in. You had
to open... I mean the opening angle for instance had to be more than on most cars. Most cars
came up to there, Volvo we had to fold away so the hinging and the position of the rear
screen and all had to be adapted based on the Volvo regulations. So, yes there clearly
was more than just six boxes in the rear lamp. If you want to hear my full interview with
Steve, where he also talks a little about the Ford Escort RS Cosworth that he designed,
head over to the link above or in the description. This would be the first time the 400 series
shared a body style with the larger 700 series, and Volvo’s management had serious concerns
that this car, just 38cm (15”) shorter, could take sales away from their larger, and
pricier car. But Volvo’s Dutch team won through, and development proceeded. The design
was based on a sketch by Fedde Talsma, who’d recently been hired by Volvo after winning
a public contest to design a successor to the 300 series. Over the years Fedde continued
to rise through the ranks at Volvo and retired as Chief Exterior Design Director in 2014.
But the rear end would be all Steve Harper. When work on the new model was completed it
was released in 1989 as the 460. Of course, one obvious body style that was
missing was an estate. Like with the saloon there was a real concern that an estate could
impact 700 series or indeed 200 series sales, and at the very least could create a confusing
line-up. That didn’t stop others from proposing one though! The American Sunroof Company,
who’d helped out with the 480 Cabrio, produced a design, as did French coachbuilder Heuliez,
and from their designs it’s easy to see why Volvo felt 700 estate sales could suffer
from this doppelganger. A Dutch aftermarket company, Toncar even went as far as selling
a replacement for the 440’s hatchback to turn it into an estate of sorts. Volvo tried
to ban it, but without much effect. Sales of the 400 series were in line with
the 300 series. Respectable, but not stellar. In 1991 the 1.7L Renault engine was fuel injected
and offered in smaller 1.6L and larger 1.8L versions. The 480 coupé got some trim updates,
as well as a bored out 2.0L engine. A more major update appeared in 1993 with
a facelift for the hatchback and saloon. With the launch of the 850 in 1991, it was felt
the 400 series should look more like its larger sister. The front was revised, along with
new front and rear lights. The 480 got a smaller update, with revised indicators. Inside, the
seat fabric and steering wheel were changed out for all models. The Renault F-type engine,
a long running engine that’s still being used today on the Mégane and Scénic, was
now exclusively fuel injected, with a new turbo diesel option.
Safety features were updated in line with the 850. The 400 series had already received
airbags and better side protection since it launched, and side protection was further
improved by including Volvo’s SIPS or Side Impact Protection System.
With Volvo gearing up to replace the 400 series in 1996, not many other updates appeared.
One notable exception was the relaunch of the DAF CVT automatic transmission in 1994
that had been a feature of the 300 series. The rubber belts had been swapped out for
more durable steel belts, and the whole system ran in oil within a sealed gearbox casing.
The new system was dubbed “Transmatic”, and Audi would use a similar setup with their
Multitronic gearbox. Transmatic got grafted into the last of the Rover Metros, but on
the 440 and 460 no one really bought it. Production of the 480 ended in 1995 without
a direct replacement. Volvo’s next small coupé would be the C30 over 10 years later.
The 440 and 460 ended production in 1996, to be replaced by the S40 saloon that finally
made it to North America, and – heresy of heresies! – they even sold an estate version!
It seems Volvo had got over its phobia of offering a smaller estate, and it didn’t
seem to hurt sales as Volvo was still selling an estate version of the S40 in 2019.
The 400 series was a transitional car for Volvo. The 300 series had been designed by
DAF, and the 400 series, although created by the same team, was done under Volvo’s
supervision. Volvo would turn its back on the Netherlands, closing both the design centre
and the Born factory, but the 400 series is a lasting legacy to Dutch know-how in producing
well made, luxurious cars.
