“Did they really make a Volvo 480 cabriolet?” Yes, they did build a few of them. Depending of how fond you are of the wedgy Volvo, it’s either unfortunate or a blessing they didn’t build more than a small pre-production run, along with a Belgian supplier creating some prototypes of their own.
But the few press photos that exist look quite promising.
Rollover protection worries, according to sources, nipped the 480 at the bud, and one can’t help but think that since Volvo didn’t export the 480ES to the States, there was little point in engineering a convertible version at all – as USA would have been a major market for the topless ones.
The central hoop fits the rest of the car, as the 480 is such a strange-looking car, the addition doesn’t look out of place.
[Images: Volvo]
Oddball Convertible Weekend: The Volvo 480 Cabriolet
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Looks as if the fender/hood gap, mentioned in the last 480ES post, is part of the design language. The wheels on the blue one are really strange, too, a bit too close to these:
http://www.ksta.de/image/view/2013/5/26/23520858,20342771,highRes,Gullideckel_01_neu_dpa.jpg -
I really like that. It works in an odd but love able way.
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yesterday i was bitching about that underbumper grille. on this car it actually looks fine.
my disappointment in the 480ES using that grille is probably related to how “future” the 480ES wanted to look and how un-future that underboob grille actually does look – an element of old design clunkily stuffed into a vision for The New.
this cabrio doesn’t, to my eyes, look like anyone ever considered it very “future”, so rather than offensive, the grille is merely dumpy. i still think it’s stupid, but it doesn’t stand out to me here like it does on the original car.-
also the car is visually lower than the regular 480ES, which makes the grille a little more prominent. maybe part of my frustration with the underboob grille in the 480ES is that for years i didn’t know it existed.
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Batshitbox mentioned the TR7 in the previous 480ES post. I think this would look better with a TR7-style hardtop rather than as a convertible or hatchback.
http://britishmotoringjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tumblr_lqr4dxj99a1qmv2ym.jpg -
It would’ve had plenty of company if they had brought it to the States. I imagine the price would probably keep sales closer to the Reatta than the Capri, though.
(related: I actually saw a running XR2 this week!)
http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID572/images/EX-Mercury_Capri_1992_XR2-lfq-color-590.jpg
http://www.auctionsamerica.com/images/lots/FL09/FL09_r044_01.jpg
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