Development
Volvo took six years from the time the 480 was conceived, through its development, and finally brought to production readiness.[8] The press launch was on October 15, 1985, but the 480 was first put on public show in March at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show, becoming available to mainland European buyers in May 1986 and the UK and Ireland in June 1987. [9]
Volvo described the car as a four-seater with "sporty styling" and the first front wheel driven Volvo.[10] The press described it as having a "sleek hatch body" in contrast to Volvo's traditional "boxcar look".[11] While the 480's design is often referred to as a shooting brake by commentators, Volvo themselves did not use the term.[12][13] The 480 was the first Volvo of its style since the 1800ES, and the last until the unveiling of the C30.[14] All of these models featured a frameless glass hatch for cargo access.
The 480 was produced in Born, Netherlands, at the factory that built DAF cars, including the DAF 66 based Volvo 66, and later, the Volvo 300 Series. The 480 was the forerunner of the Volvo 440 and 460 models, which were built on the same platform.
For weight saving and pedestrian safety reasons, certain panels such as the nose-cone and bonnet were made from composite materials. Volvo also claimed that it was one of the first cars sold in Europe featuring bumpers designed to comply with United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations to withstand a 5 mph front rear impact without damage to the engine, lights, and safety equipment.[15] The decision to incorporate pop-up headlights into the design was done to meet NHTSA standards on minimum headlight height while maintaining the aerodynamic shape.[11] However, although it was foreseen to sell 25,000 cars overseas, the introduction of the Volvo 480 to the American market was postponed indefinitely in February 1988, citing unfavourable market conditions and the US dollar exchange rate.[16] The federalized engine, however, did allow Volvo to export the 480 Turbo to Japan in 1989 with some additional minor changes to the trim and side markers. The cleaned-up engine produced 115 hp-metric at 5400 rpm and 175 Nm at 4200 rpm.[17] Of the 300 examples exported to Japan, 295 were left-hand drive with a manual gearbox, whereas the remaining 5 were right-hand drive automatics.[18] To keep the width under the 1.7-metre threshold, allowing it to fit into the
The concept was to market a modern, compact front-wheel drive car with a unique low-slung design targeting buyers "between 25 and 40, probably with a higher than average education and with a career."[8] Designed by Volvo's Dutch subsidiary, the "sporty 480 ES coupé" was introduced to change the automaker's "frumpy image" and into the "yuppie" market segment.[15]
Daytime running lights, illuminated driver's door lock, follow-me-home headlights with 30 second delay & automatic rear wiper in reverse gear were among the electronic features that were considered advanced for the time. A fully electronic 'Info Centre', which incorporated a fuel gauge as well as 7 other measurements including estimated range, instant MPG and average speed was standard on most models.
Volvo highlighted that the car was "well-endowed with advanced electronics" and the press release described in detail the numerous features.[8] The 480 had good handling, due in part to its Lotus-developed rear axle.[13] The normally aspirated Renault engines, while not powerful, were reliable.
