Volvo is known — and loved — for producing quirky cars. (Good luck finding a Volvo review that doesn’t employ that adjective.) That reputation has held firm over the years, even in spite of the brand’s recent move toward more upscale, conventional vehicles.
A few Volvos, however, have been true headscratchers — cars that blew right past quirky to land at downright weird. Below, we’ve rounded up five of the weirdest cars Volvo ever made.
Volvo 262C Bertone (1978-1981)
VolvoDecision-making in the Malaise era was weird, man. Volvo created an homage to Lincoln’s Mark IV pleasure barge, but they did it on the cheap. The result was an Italian-built coupe…that was really just a standard boxy Volvo sedan from the belt line down, with a disproportionate vinyl roofline up top.
Volvo 480 (1987-1995)
VolvoVolvo tried to get trendy in the 1980s with the 480. It was a hatchback with the wedge-shaped hood of a Pontiac Fiero and pop-up headlights. It did have a traditional-looking Volvo grille — it was just located under the bumper. It also had a big glass hatch like a VW Golf. Volvo also designed a zany convertible version with a safety bar frame, but that never made it to production.
