Volvo 850

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Volvo 850

The Volvo 850 is a compact executive car

Compact executive car

Compact executive car is a mainly United Kingdom car classification term applied to premium cars smaller than executive cars. In American English, they are usually referred to as Entry-level luxury car....
produced by Volvo Cars

Volvo Cars

Volvo Cars, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automaker founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden — and currently owned by Ford Motor Company....
from 1992 to 1997 (sold as 1993–1997 in the U.S. market) and designed by Jan Wilsgaard

Jan Wilsgaard

Jan Wilsgaard, born in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, was the Chief Designer at Volvo Cars from 1950-1990, having studied at Gothenburg School of Applied Arts before joining Volvo when co-founder Assar Gabrielsson still headed the company....
. Available in sedan/saloon and station wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon in American English, Australian English, Canadian English and New Zealand English usage and an estate car in British English usage, is a passenger automobile with a car body style similar to a sedan but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area, i.e. ending with a more vertical door...
/estate body styles, the Volvo 850 was notable as the first front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of Internal combustion engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only....
vehicle from this Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
manufacturer to be exported to North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. It is often considered the vehicle that gave Volvo its reputation as a high-end auto maker in North America due to the level of features available in this model that were not offered in previous models.

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Encyclopedia

The Volvo 850 is a compact executive car

Compact executive car

Volvo Cars

Jan Wilsgaard

Station wagon

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of Internal combustion engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only....
vehicle from this Swedish

Sweden

North America

Sweden

Overview

The Volvo 850 was introduced worldwide as a 1992 model, but arrived in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
in the 1993 model year. It was sold as a sedan with a wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon in American English, Australian English, Canadian English and New Zealand English usage and an estate car in British English usage, is a passenger automobile with a car body style similar to a sedan but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area, i.e. ending with a more vertical door...
model on sale from 1992 in Europe. The 850 was the first Volvo model in the U.S. to feature front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of Internal combustion engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only....
and an all-aluminum 20-valve

Multi-valve

Straight-5

The straight-5 or inline-5 is an internal combustion engine with five Cylinder aligned in one row, sharing a single engine block and crankcase....
engine. The 850 was Volvo's top-seller in the mid-1990s. In markets outside the U.S. a 10-valve

Multi-valve

In automotive engineering, an engine is referred to as multi-valve when each cylinder has more than two poppet valve. Such designs have been around since at least 1912 and perhaps earlier....
variant of the five-cylinder was popular for its lower cost and better fuel economy.

All U.S. 850s received standard equipment such as dual front airbag

Airbag

An airbag is a Automobile safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly in an automobile collision, to prevent vehicle occupants from striking hard interior objects such as steering wheels....
s, antilock brakes, head restraints and three-point seat belts for all passengers, power windows, door locks, and mirrors, cruise control

Cruise control

Cruise control is a system that automatically controls the rate of motion of a motor vehicle. The driver sets the speed and the system will take over the throttle of the car to maintain the same speed....
, and dual zone climate control. Side torso airbags became a world first when introduced as an option for 1995. Some other options during the model run included features such as traction control, leather interior, power glass moonroof, power seats, heated seats, remote keyless entry, automatic climate control, and automatic transmission

Automatic transmission

An automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manual transmission....
.

The 850 sedan features an interior space of 2.80 m³ (99 cubic ft). This is slightly more than the 2.78 m³ (98 cubic ft) of the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive car cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. The E initially stood for Einspritzung, ; a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the engine nomenclature in the 1950s....
even though the car is reasonably compact on the outside. This space is achieved by mounting the in-line 5-cylinder engine transversely (from the left to the right of the car) under the hood. The road-holding and handling are vastly improved over the previous rear-wheel drive Volvos.

The 850 Turbo Wagon is one of the fastest production station wagons in the world, capable of 250+ km/h (160+ mph) when ungoverned. Production models of the wagon and sedan are electronically governed to approximately . In 1996 a "Platinum" edition of the 850 Turbo was available. The exterior paint for these models came in a metallic pearl platinum-color and had special alloy wheels. The interior was fitted with leather seats and burled walnut accents. Only 1500 of these were imported for the U.S. market.

For the last model year (1996/1997) 850 was available also with 5-cylinder Volkswagen/Audi turbodiesel engine (D5252T) with . As well AWD (All Wheel Drive) model was introduced with a new low pressure turbo 2.4 litre engine (B5254T).

In 1998, the model line was updated, and renamed the Volvo S70

Volvo S70

The Volvo S70 is a mid-size luxury car produced by the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1997 to 2000. The S70 was the sedan and the Volvo V70 the station wagon; they both represented mainly new styling and revised suspensions from the 1993 through 1997 Volvo 850....
(sedan) and Volvo V70

Volvo V70

The Volvo V70 is a mid-size five-door station wagon manufactured by Volvo Cars since 1996 — and closely related to the Volvo S70, Volvo S60 and Volvo S80 sedan as well as the more stylized four-wheel drive Cross Country and XC70....
(station wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon in American English, Australian English, Canadian English and New Zealand English usage and an estate car in British English usage, is a passenger automobile with a car body style similar to a sedan but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area, i.e. ending with a more vertical door...
). These vehicles were sold in the U.S. through the 2000 model year when there were still many 850's waiting to be sold. This allowed for an alternatively designed vehicle; the 2001 Volvo S60

Volvo S60

The Volvo S60 is a compact executive car sedan produced by the Sweden automaker Volvo Cars since the year 2000. An all-new S60 is expected for the 2010 model year....
and Volvo V70

Volvo V70

Rear suspension

For the 850, Volvo created what it called "Delta-link semi-independent rear suspension". Volvo held a U.S. patent for rear axle bushing

Bushing

A bushing is a cylindrical lining designed to reduce friction and wear inside a hole, or constrict and restrain motion of mechanical parts....
s that compress under load, giving the Volvo 850 passive rear steering

Steering

Steering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow for a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course....
. The automobile also has a tight turning circle, , and was considered very maneuverable. By comparison, later large Volvos had a turning circle.

Motorsport

Legendary Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n race driver Peter Brock

Peter Brock

Peter Geoffrey Brock Order of Australia otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brockie" or "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers....
drove a Volvo 850 touring car in a one-off Bathurst 12-hour endurance event in 1994, and drove the car in the 1996 Australian Super Touring Championship. Volvo joined forces with the famous and very successful Tom Walkinshaw Racing

Tom Walkinshaw Racing

Tom Walkinshaw Racing, also known simply as TWR, was a racing team founded in 1976 by touring car racing Tom Walkinshaw.TWR started by modifying BMW E9, but soon was contracted to head Mazda's works program in the British Touring Car Championship....
team (TWR) in 1994 to build an 850 Estate touring car to compete in the British Touring Car Championship

British Touring Car Championship

The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s and...
(BTCC). Despite much criticism, the 850 Estate performed well, with a best placed finish of fifth, and a best qualifying spot of third. It was driven by Rickard Rydell

Rickard Rydell

Rickard Rydell is a Sweden racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Championship....
and Jan Lammers

Jan Lammers

Johannes "Jan" Lammers, , is a racing driver and team principal from the Netherlands. He participated in 41 Formula One Grand Prix races, debuting on January 21, 1979....
and Volvo finished sixth in manufacturers' standings in the 1994 season. In 1995, TWR and Volvo built the 850R Saloon BTCC Racer and this won five races, qualified on pole position 13 times with Rickard Rydell and Tim Harvey

Tim Harvey

Tim Harvey is a racing driver from England. He is the current 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Champion. A household name in the 1990s, Harvey won the prestigious BTCC title in 1992 driving a BMW 318 coupe, run by Vic Lee Racing....
and finished third in the championship. The switch was due mainly to the change in BTCC regulations which allowed aerodynamic aids (spoilers) which effectively ended any chance of the Estate being fully competitive. In 1996, an improved 850R saloon raced which boasted eight wins with Rickard Rydell and Kelvin Burt

Kelvin Burt

Kelvin Burt is a United Kingdom auto racing driver. After attending the Jim Russell Racing Drivers' School in 1987 he turned to Formula Ford racing, battling hard against David Coulthard for the championship....
and finished third in the championship. Volvo were also prevalent with the 850 in championships across Europe and in Australia.

R models

In 1995 a special limited edition race-bred model was released. This "850 T-5R" model was limited in exterior paint color choices: only available in cream yellow (2500 worldwide including sedan and station wagon), in black (2500 worldwide including sedan and station wagon) and emerald green metallic (500 worldwide including sedan and station wagon). Only 2,000 were made for the U.S. market and in only two colours, black and creme yellow. There were 1,825 of them in black and 185 of the cream yellow models. The vehicle was based upon the 850 Turbo with the B5234T5 engine with a special ECU known as the Bosch #628 ECU, that added 3 psi (21 kPa) to turbocharger boost pressure, giving the engine an additional 18 horsepower

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several non-International System of Units units of power . It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses....
(13 kW).

1995 was the only year that the race-bred model was badged as a "T-5R". All subsequent models are badged with just the simple addition of "R". Example: 1995 850 T-5R, 1996 850R, 1997 850R, 2004 S60R, etc.

For the Italian market, the T-5R was based on the 2.0 litre 850 Turbo. The transmission was the standard AW/50-42 used in all U.S. 850's, the M56H being available in other countries.

Also, included in the 1995 "T-5R" package is a front bumper with a lip, and a special Alcantara

Alcantara (material)

Alcantara is the name given to a composite material used to cover surfaces and forms in a variety of situations and applications.The material was developed in the 1970s by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working for the Japanese chemical company Toray ....
(the fire-retardant version of Toray Industries' Ultrasuede (tm)) and leather two-tone interior, in dark grey with deep birch wood grain accents. Additionally, the 1995 "T-5R" models came with polished aluminum door sills and for the 1995 model year only, the "T-5R" had an additional badge to the left of the "850" on the trunk, referred to as "The Motorsport badge". Aftermarket Motorsport badges are available and are often added by owners but only the 1995 T-5R came standard with that badge. The standard wheels were the 5-spoke 17×7 "Titan". The 1995 "T-5R" had a very limited production run. For the U.S. market there were only 2,000 produced and they only came in two colours, black and creme yellow. The creme yellow were the rarer of the two with only 185 produced out of the 2,000 shipped to the U.S. With the age of the "T-5R" and the fact that they appeal to more aggressive drivers the number still on the road has shrunk.

In 1996 and continued through 1997 (the final year of the 850) a separate R model was released called the "850 R", this model was not as limited in production as the "T-5R" was. Some sources stated about 9,000 R produced. Flame red, black, anthracite grey, olive green metallic, turquoise and white were the only color choices. In the USA only Red, White and Black were standard colors. Also one known grey 854 lurking around in Virginia. Also, a new rear spoiler on sedans was introduced, and the interior was still two-tone but, the layout changed — in 1995 the leather was in the center of the seats — now it was on the outside bolster portion. The standard wheels used in these model years were the 17×7 "Volans". For 1996 and 1997, Volvo also introduced a new manual transmission

Manual transmission

A manual transmission is a type of Transmission used in automotive applications. It generally utilizes a driver-operated clutch operated by a pedal or lever, for regulating torque transfer from the engine to the transmission, and a gear-shift either operated by hand or by foot ....
for these cars called the M59 that came standard with a Torsen differential. The M59 was available in most markets, except the US. Furthermore, the M59 cars were equipped with a slightly larger turbocharger, the TD04H-16T, and upgraded software enabling these cars to produce versus for the automatic transmission equipped cars. Torque was also significantly increased in the manual models from to .

Trims (U.S.)

All manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRPs) are base prices only.

1993

850 GLT ($24,800 MSRP): 2.4 L I5
Straight-5

The straight-5 or inline-5 is an internal combustion engine with five Cylinder aligned in one row, sharing a single engine block and crankcase....
, 168 hp
Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several non-International System of Units units of power . It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses....
(125 kW
WATT

WATT is a radio station broadcasting a News radio-Talk radio-Sports radio format. Licensed to Cadillac, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1945....
) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf
Torque

Torque is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis . Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
(220 N·m
Newton metre

Newton metre is a Physical unit of torque in the SI system. The symbolic form is N m or N?m, and sometimes hyphenated newton-metre....
) @ 4500 rpm

All 1993 850 models were badged GLT, regardless of equipment. Many options (leather, sunroof, and more) were bundled into the Touring package.

1994

850 ($24,300 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 168 hp (125 kW) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4500 rpm
850 Turbo ($29,985 MSRP): 2.3 L I5
Straight-5

The straight-5 or inline-5 is an internal combustion engine with five Cylinder aligned in one row, sharing a single engine block and crankcase....
, 222 hp (166 kW) @ 5200 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm

The base 850 sedan includes the same headlights, front valance and front and rear bumper as the 1993 850, while all other models, including the new wagon, get revised headlights, front valances, and front and rear bumpers. The GLT badge is dropped, although all the same equipment is available. The Turbo sedan and wagon, as well as the normally aspirated wagon, are new models this year.

1995

850 ($24,580 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 168 hp (125 kW) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4500 rpm
850 GLT ($27,110 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 168 hp (125 kW) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4500 rpm
850 Turbo ($31,045 MSRP): 2.3 L I5, 222 hp (166 kW) @ 5200 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm
850 T-5R ($35,545 MSRP): 2.3 L I5, 240 hp (179 kW) @ 5600 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm

The GLT badge returned for the 1995 model year, so there were now sedan and wagon versions of the 850, 850 GLT, 850 Turbo, and 850 T-5R. The T-5R was the new high performance model, with more power stemming from ECU tuning, and special suspension, trim and wheels. In addition to the introduction of the T-5R, changes included new tail-lights for sedans, optional side airbags, new interior switch-gear design and several other detail changes.

1996

850 ($26,125 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 168 hp (125 kW) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4700 rpm
850 GLT ($29,200 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 168 hp (125 kW) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4500 rpm
850 Turbo ($32,650 MSRP): 2.3 L I5, 222 hp (166 kW) @ 5200 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm
850 R ($37,925 MSRP): 2.3 L I5, 240 hp (179 kW) @ 5600 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm

Changes this year include a revised power door lock system, new exterior colors, and full OBD-II compliance. The T-5R high performance version became the R in 1996, but the performance differences remained relatively the same.

1997

850 ($26,710 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 168 hp (125 kW) @ 6300 rpm and 162 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4500 rpm
850 GLT ($31,835 MSRP): 2.4 L I5, 190 hp (142 kW) @ 5100 rpm and 199 ft·lbf (270 N·m) at 1600 rpm
850 T-5 ($34,500 MSRP): 2.3 L I5, 222 hp (166 kW) @ 5200 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm
850 R ($38,685 MSRP): 2.3 L I5, 240 hp (179 kW) @ 5600 rpm and 221 ft·lbf (300 N·m) @ 2100 rpm

For 1997, the 850's final year, all GLT models were increased to 190 hp (142 kW) by pairing a low-pressure turbocharger with the 2.4 L engine. The 850 Turbo model was thence called the 850 T-5, as it always had been in the UK. The 1997 model year was short, as the substantially similar (virtually identical except for superficial styling changes) Volvo S70

Volvo S70

Volvo V70

Quick Info

Volvo 850 Quick information by Trim Level
Trim	Engine	Turbo	Fuel Delivery	Power	Torque	Transmission	Performance
2.0 10v	B5202 2.0L 1984cc I5 Straight-5 The straight-5 or inline-5 is an internal combustion engine with five Cylinder aligned in one row, sharing a single engine block and crankcase.... 10v	No	Siemens Fenix 5.2	126 hp (93 kW)@6100 rpm	170 N·m @4800 rpm	M56 5 speed manual
2.0 20v	B5204 2.0L 1984cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 20v	No	Bosch Motronic 4.3	143 hp (105 kW) @6500 rpm	136 ft·lbf (184 N·m)	M56 5 speed manual	0-100 km/h: 10.5s, VMax 203 km/h(126 mph)
2.0 T-5 (some EU countries only)	B5204T 2.0L 1984cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 Straight-5 The straight-5 or inline-5 is an internal combustion engine with five Cylinder aligned in one row, sharing a single engine block and crankcase.... 20v Turbo	Yes	Bosch Motronic 4.3	210 hp (154 kW)@5400 rpm	300 N·m @1900 rpm	M56 5 speed manual/4 speed automatic	0-100 km/h: 7.3s, VMax: 229 km/h(142 mph)
2.5 10v	B5252 2.4L 2435cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 10v	No	Siemens Fenix 5.2	144 hp (106 kW) @5400 rpm	206 N·m @3600 rpm	M56 5 speed manual
2.5 20v	B5254 2.4L 2435cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 20v	No	Bosch Motronic 4.3	170 hp (125 kW)@6200 rpm	220 N·m @3300 rpm	M56 5 speed manual/ 4 speed adaptive automatic	0-100 km/h: 9.2s, VMax: 216 km/h(134 mph)
2.4 LPT	B5254T 2.4L 2435cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 20v Turbo	Mitsubishi 13g turbo	Bosch Motronic 4.3	190 hp (141 kW)@5100 rpm	270 N·m @1800 rpm	4 speed adaptive automatic	0-100 km/h: 7.8s, VMax: 225 km/h(140 mph)
T-5 (Turbo)	B5234T 2.3L 2319cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 20v Turbo	Yes (Mitsubishi TD04-15g)	Bosch Motronic 4.3	222 hp (166 kW)@5200 rpm	300 N·m @2000 rpm	M56 5 speed manual/ 4 speed adaptive automatic	0-100 km/h: 7.0s, VMax: 234 km/h(145 mph)
T-5R	B5234T 2.3L 2319cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 20v Turbo	Yes (Mitsubishi TD04-15g)	Bosch Motronic 4.3	240 hp (176 kW) @5600 rpm	350 N·m @2000 rpm	M56 5 speed manual/ 4 speed adaptive automatic	0-100 km/h: 6.9s, VMax: 245 km/h(153 mph)
R	B5234T5 2.3L 2319cc CC CC or cc may refer to:... I5 I5 I5, or I 5 may be:Intel Core i5, an upcoming microprocessor manufactured by IntelIBM AS/400 iSeries line of minicomputers*i5 an early 2000 girl group... 20v Turbo	Yes (Mitsubishi TD04-15g auto, TD04-16t manual)	Bosch Motronic 4.3	240 hp auto, 250 hp (184 kW) @5400 rpm manual	300 N·m auto, 350 N·m @2400 rpm manual	Viscous diff 5 speed manual/ 4 speed adaptive automatic	0-100 km/h: 7.6s auto, 0-100 km/h: 6.7s manual, VMax: 250 km/h(156 mph)

External links

, An amazing Volvo 850 Crash test Video.
, an owners resource and technical forum
, Volvo Community and Resource for Volvo Owners and Enthusiasts
, an enthusiasts site
, an owners resource and technical forum