The authors of German Cars for Sale Blog are always throwing around ideas for new features and I thought it might be neat to occasionally feature an interesting, non-German vehicle that would appeal to German car enthusiasts. Here is one such vehicle: the rare, one year only Volvo T5-R.
Launched in 1992, the Volvo 850 was quite a leap forward for Volvo in terms of engineering and was the first Volvo with front wheel drive to be sold in the United States. In 1995, the T5-R arrived in sedan and estate forms. After a respectable showing with an 850 Estate in the British Touring Car series, Volvo teamed with Porsche to produce the T5-R sedan and wagon. Equipped with tuned suspension and a special ECU along with added turbo boost, the inline 5 cylinder engine cranked out 240 horsepower, making the estate version the fastest family hauler at the time.
The car is for sale at a Volvo dealer in Edison, New Jersey. It amazes me how little the dealer seems enthused about having such a classic in their inventory. Not even a description was written for it. At $13,999, this car is priced high for an obscure (to some) Swedish performance car. T5-Rs don’t come up for sale too often; the ones I have seen lately have had well over 100,000 miles and have looked as if they have been run hard and put up wet. NADA is listing shy of $6,000 for examples with similar mileage to this particular car. I could see maybe spending up to $8,000 for an example like this.
This car combines durability in a package that will give you your speed fix and surprise a few folks at a stoplight or two.
-Paul
Love these, ESPECIALLY the wagons. What a crazy yellow, too. Nice find!
Great idea on the new feature! I can’t wait to see the first Honda product on here. 🙂
I remember these models, great car. Too bad it’s at a dealer and overpriced. The dealer is probably the worst place to buy a classic.
OK, I admit it. I always liked Volvo wagons – especially the performance-oriented R-types. The V70R, for example, was a particularly sweet package: 300hp, 6-speed, AWD and a wagon.
Unfortunately, this T5-R example is not a wagon, not a stick, and it’s really yellow. Oh well.
BTW, an occasional “interesting, non-German vehicle that would appeal to German car enthusiasts” would be great! Thank you.
There are many other European (and even, rarely, an American or Japanese) car that feels a bit Teutonic in style, performance, etc.
But…please, please please don’t start piling on Hondas, Toyotas, etc. There are plenty of other sites out there with that focus already.
always_fixing, what Honda product fits that description?
I agree, Larry. Would be a lot more desirable to me if it was a 5 speed wagon. And not to worry, these non-German features will be reserved for very unique and special vehicles.
Larry, I believe the Acura Vigor/Legend’s were positioned to be an alternative against BMW. You have the Datsun 510 as a cheaper BMW. The 240sx was the appliance version of the 944. The original Maxima SE was BMWish.
I see a trend here… And it’s still comparing apples to oranges, probably a stretch, fwd vs rwd, but it would be fun to mix it up a bit and add some commentary.
I’m saying this with my garage occupied with a VW and a Honda. 🙂
always_fixing, you nailed it.
Many Japanese cars are very competent and reliable, but tend to be described as “an alternative to…” or “just like a…” More appliance feel, less personality and soul.
No doubt, the Legend, 510, 240sx and Maxima, are great cars. I had a 1st gen RX-7 and a Sentra SE-R that were quite fun, but in the end, they couldn’t compete with the Scirocco and the 318is.
Still, I agree – it’ll be fun to mix it up a bit and add some commentary. Looking forward to it…
I’m a fan of the T5-R, but would personally prefer the wagon over the sedan. $13K is too much for this car – I agree with Paul’s $8K assessment. I have kept my eye on these T5-Rs over the years. Clean ones with lower miles seem to rarely come along – especially in wagon form.