Delivery-Mileage Volvo 480ES Will Take You Back To 1987 – For $27k

Remember when Volvo offered a car with pop-up headlights? It was the Volvo 480, the company’s first front-drive model that debuted in 1986.

The 480 is essentially the predecessor of the C30, adopting a radical but cool styling language at a time when the Swedish car maker was best known for its boxy large cars. It offered four seats, a glass hatch and still rocked the classic Volvo grille, only it was mounted under the bumper.

You can safely say that it was a pretty radical car for Volvo. Apparently, someone thought the same and kept this particular example in an unused condition since 1987, with the tachometer showing the original delivery mileage: just 68 km (42 miles).

This 480ES has been stored in a private collection for 29 years, making it perhaps the only example in this condition. It may not be your usual classic car, but if you’re a Volvo enthusiast or simply a retro fan, it might hit a spot or two.

Despite its sporty looks, performance was modest at best as under the bonnet lies a Renault-sourced 1.7-liter four-cylinder with 109hp. Volvo added a turbo in 1988, which raised the power to 120hp, but still you wouldn’t call it a hot hatch. Later models replaced the 1.7-liter engine with a bigger 2.0-liter that offered 110hp, just one more than before, but torque was much improved.

The car in question is located in London and is currently advertised on Car and Classic for the price of £19,950 (around $26,500 in current exchange rates). Is it worth it? That’s highly subjective, but still, we doubt you’d find another one in this condition.