No car has been more important in Volvo’s history than the 240 series, which turns 40 years old this week. At the time, this was the car to own in Malaysia if you were above middle class and had wanted a little luxury motoring. The Malaysian police department also put their faith in this car to do their duties on the road as well as in transporting their staff.
Company accountants loved them and made sure their management drive them and as the years went by the Volvo 240 was handed down to children as their first car and till today you can see them on road running with no issue.
On August 21, 1974, the Volvo 240 was officially introduced to the media in the small town of Borlänge, Sweden. An evolution of the Volvo 140, the all-new 240 featured advancements at the time that included MacPherson struts and rack and pinion steering along with a four-cylinder engine that was available in both carbureted and fuel injected versions. Two months after the 240 launched, Volvo released the 264 with its 140-hp 2.7-liter V-6, which was created as part of a partnership with Renault and Peugeot.
The Volvo 240 also went track racing and rallying against sleeker looking competitors it managed to win races.
The Volvo 240 was eventually offered in coupe, sedan and station wagon body styles, and Volvo says that the 245 Turbo Wagon was the first series production station wagon equipped with a turbocharged gasoline engine. Other engines offered in the 240 include a six-cylinder diesel developed with Volkswagen in 1979 and 155-hp turbo engine in 1981.
Like current Volvo products, the 240 was driven by safety as it was inspired by the 1972 Volvo Experimental Safety Car concept vehicle. In addition to its high levels of safety, the Volvo 240/260 cars were also at the forefront of environmental awareness, and in 1976 it became the first car in the world to offer a three-way catalytic converter and Lambda sensors.
Although these technologies were only used in California initially, just two years later, the Volvo 240 was named the cleanest car in America by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
The last of the 240/260 series Volvo cars rolled off the assembly line on May 5, 1993, and over its 19-year run, more than 2.8 million cars were sold easily making it Volvo’s top-selling model ever. Happy birthday to the car that also gave birth to the seat belt.
