Market Finds: This Volvo is for Those Who Think Outside of the Box

This Volvo is for Those Who Think Outside of the Box

By Petrolicious
August 7, 2014

The car: 1981 Volvo 262C Bertone 

Price: $3,000

Location: Gunbarrel (Boulder), Colorado, USA

Seller’s Info: Click Here

Boxy Volvos from yesteryear are nothing out of the ordinary. However, this 1981 262C Bertone is not your usual Swedish brick. For starters, its design was inspired by an American car–the Lincoln Mark IV–and final assembly was performed by Bertone in Torino, Italy rather than Sweden. The coachbuilder added a custom greenhouse, a rakish angle to the windshield, and a leather-and-wood interior, transforming an ordinary 262GL two-door into a chopped-roof luxury coupe.

This particular specimen, one of 912 made in 1981, even has a four-speed manual gearbox. The owner of this 159,000-mile rarity states, “I have put over $3k into it and I drive it weekly with no problems. The work on it has been done at Swedish Motors here in Boulder.”

If you know of a great, stylish car for sale and would like us to feature it, please let us know!

Petrolicious makes no claim as to the accuracy of the information contained in the car’s original listing, nor will it be held responsible for any errors in said information. If you’re interested in this car, do your homework and research it extensively before you buy.

Join the Conversation
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
9 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
gabby2031
gabby2031
8 years ago

I’m a huge Volvo fan myself 🙂 Favorite dealership hands down is Volvo of Overland Park (for MO/KS residents): http://www.volvoofop.com/

André Borges
André Borges
10 years ago

I LOVE IT! Being a Volvo C70 1998 owner myself, I cannot help but love ’em.

Andrew
Andrew
7 years ago
Reply to  André Borges

Hi Andre – I’m also a ’98 C70 owner – black, 5 speed manual, tan leather. I love the car but it’s getting a little harder to service. What do you think of the value for these going forward (not that it matters as I intend to hold onto it as long as I can)?

Johnny
Johnny
10 years ago

But is it a 4 speed with Volvo’s funky overdrive with the switch on the top of the knob? If there’s one thing I loved about my old 242GT, it was being able to flick that switch to downshift and pass on the freeway instead of actually having to push in the clutch and shift!

Mark Jordan
Mark Jordan
10 years ago

The one you want is the successor to this model, the Volvo 780 Coupe, which was imported from 1987 through 1991. Also styled by Bertone, it didn’t look anything like this backyard hack job, but it did look like a Volvo, even though not one panel was shared with its 760 stablemates. Add a gorgeous Italian leather interior and Volvo’s healthy and robust 4-cylinder “red block” turbo, and you had one very stylish (and rare) cruiser. Just don’t prang it, body parts are unobtanium. How about a feature on this?

jolocho
jolocho
10 years ago

I know everything’s been tweaked, but it looks like Volvo told Bertone they could only mess with anything higher than the door. I wonder how a chop topped 242 would look compared to this.

JB21
JB21
10 years ago

My grouchy Volvo mechanic, Bob, had 3 of those sitting in his yard. He said that they were his absolute favorite Volvos. I like them a lot, too, they look oddly pretty, especially in person.

Stephen Fitzgerald
Stephen Fitzgerald
10 years ago

What a cool Volvo. Never knew they existed, and now I want one. Plus, it’s a manual!

Benjamin Shahrabani
10 years ago

Bertone also added that C-pillar I believe…

Petrolicious Newsletter