It is a car that you'll either know about it and love it, or you don't know about it and therefore don't quite understand it, especially in its launch 'faded yellow' colour. I am of course the former, which is why I bought this 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R estate, the special edition of the hugely successful Volvo 850 model. Launched in 1991, the Volvo 850 was a much needed refresh for the company, because its predecessor, the 700 series, was looking well and truly outdated. Legend has it that the Volvo 850 was the most expensive industrial project ever to be undertaken in the whole of Sweden at the time. Aside from a modern look that was much easier on the eye, Volvo continued their reputation of being the frontrunner in safety by introducing first-in-the-world features like their Side Impact Protection System (SIPS), which developed into side airbags in later models.
The 850 series initially started with the economical GLE and GLT models before Volvo launched the T5 model in 1994. The T5 was the top of the line performance model with a 2.4L inline 5 turbocharged engine delivering about 220HP to the front wheels. Having grew up in a T5 estate in period, I can personally attest that that was plenty of horsepower in that era, especially for an estate car! One has to remember that before the 850, Volvo rarely if ever made performance models. Therefore back then, our family estate did surprise quite a few unsuspecting road 'racers'. The 850 T5 has to be one of the most underrated 'sleeper' car in history.
Volvo took the 850's surprise element beyond public roads when they entered the 850 into the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) in 1994. They finished the season in an overall distant 8th, with a best race result of 5th, but their true victory was in PR. Instead of doing what everyone else did and enter a sedan car, Volvo actually entered the BTCC with an estate version of the 850, which was a first and the last in BTCC history (BTCC aerodynamic regulation changes after that year made it unfeasible to have a competitive estate race car). The estate racer caught the world's attention, and since then, the Volvo 850 forever solidified its 'if you know, you know' status in the automotive world.
To celebrate both the 850's success on the road and on the track, in 1995, Volvo released a special edition called the T-5R - the subject car. In addition to coming in special colours (yellow (launch colour), black, and green), the car also had unique larger 17" "titan wheels" and a revised front splitter. The T-5R was not just a money-grabbing special edition with only enhanced looks. The engine was retuned by none other than Porsche to gain a power increase from the ordinary T5's 220HP to 240HP. The interior, also unique to the T-5R and consists of half leather and half alcantara, was also designed by Porsche. Despite Volvo making close to a million 850's in all variants, the T-5R is a rare beast. It was only produced during the year 1995 and Volvo made a total of 6,964. Of that, only 4,564 were estate cars and only 1,420 were in the same launch yellow colour as mine. Of course, there will inevitably be that one know-it-all guy who would say "but the manual version is even rarer and better" (someone did actually say that to me in person), but I am not too bothered about that. Yes, a manual is always more desirable, but given this is a Volvo estate and not a Porsche turbo, I have a feeling the manual would not provide that much more excitement than my comfortable and robust 4-speed automatic.
So why did I buy this car? My childhood was right in the middle of the 850 era and as mentioned, I grew up in a T5 estate (my brother also had a T5 sedan at the time when he was studying in the US). BTCC was also at its heights during the 90's and I always loved the 850 racer. Weirdly, however, while I prefer the estate for the road cars, I always liked the sedan BTCC racer more; in fact, I think the BTCC 850 sedan is one of the most beautiful race cars in history. While the ordinary 850's looked ok, I was never particularly drawn to it (I appreciated the stack-up rear lights which was a rather forward design at the time, and a design that Volvo still uses today). The T-5R, however, was a completely different story. The revised front splitter compliments the rest of the car's boxy design perfectly without being aggressive or over the top. The titan wheels helped a lot too, obviously (although do note that my car has the later S60R's 'pegasus' wheels changed by the last owner, which I adore). Not many people will say this, but I genuinely like the looks of a Volvo 850 T-5R, especially in yellow.
Today, 28 years since it was born, the car still pulls very quickly on the straight. I was surprised at how powerful it is when the turbo kicks in, it is just as I remember it. Shortly after acquiring the car, I brought it onto a road trip across the border to China and did some pretty naughty speeds and it did not skip a beat (aside from a minor coolant leak caused by an aged coolant cap). The car continues to entertain and impress everyday and I am very grateful for the opportunity to buy it (they really are rare cars, especially here in Hong Kong). The T-5R was legitimately one of my dream cars, and fortunately unlike the others on my list, it was actually affordable!
Please see my review video here (thanks to my mate Tim for being the cameraman throughout our China trip!):