Volvo dumps its signature estate cars
Volvo will stop selling estate cars in Britain, bringing an end to the body shape that made its reputation — and competed in BTCC
Volvo 850 estate, favoured by Tom Walkinshaw and antiques dealers alike
Volvo
Any hope of a revival of one of the BTCC’s cult heroes has been dashed by Volvo’s decision to ditch all estate and saloon models from its UK salerooms.
The Swedish brand recently opted to remove all saloon and estate models – such as the S60, S90, V60 and V90 – from its new car offerings in the UK, with the brand instead focusing solely on the SUV market.
Volvo became a fan favourite when it opted to return to racing using a pair of 850 estates in the 1994 BTCC, driven by Rickard Rydell and Jan Lammers. Nicknamed ‘the flying brick’, the Tom Walkinshaw-built 850 quickly achieved cult status, with the Securicor-backed blue and white cars performing well during their first and only season as TWR switched to saloon versions from 1995.
While other estates have appeared in the BTCC since – Honda Civic Tourer and Subaru Levorg – nobody has made boxes on wheels quite like Volvo. They’ll be much missed.