The Volvo 400 Series Story
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- čas přidán 25. 03. 2021
- The Volvo 480 shocked the buying public when it launched. Surely Volvo was just boxy, boring cars? What are they doing making a sports coupé? But this was the perfect halo car to entice a younger audience to their showrooms, and Volvo had the perfect practical mid-size cars to sell them in the 440 and the 460. So, why did Volvo release the coupé before their hatchback and saloon, and why didn’t they make an estate?
Full Steve Harper interview: • Volvo 400 series - Ste...
Opening music: Bar Crawl - TrackTribe from the CZcams audio library
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Sources:
Steve Harper (interview): • Volvo 400 series - Ste...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_480
www.volvotips.com/index.php/44...
www.volvoclub.org.uk/history/...
www.volvo-480-europe.org/volvo...
dyler.com/posts/141/the-volvo...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_4...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_S40
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
#bigcar - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Erratum: The Dutch Born factory is still open, but no longer produces Volvos.
VDL NedCar currently builds Mini and BMW at the Born plant (Volvo pulled out in 2004) but BMW is ending production in 2023. If no other contract will be secured, they still may face closure.
@@volvo480 klopt helaas
Also, Renault F engines are discontinued. Megane runs Nissan Renault HR and MR family engines.
@@py105 not true the f4r engine is used in some Dacias en 3th world country renaults
@@denniz1990 Sure, but not in the Megane or Scenic as described.
Interview with the actual designer? Now that is a quality production.
He's been watching some of my other videos, and I managed to get in touch and get an interview.
@@BigCar2 too bad I didn't know you were researching this, I could get you in touch with Rob Koch and John de Vries. I will forward this video to them, I'm sure they'll like it!
@@volvo480 Thanks Robert!
@@BigCar2 The 480 was a design by John de Vries, Peter van Kuilenburg designed the 440/460. Corien Pompe worked on the color and trim of these cars. They were in Rob Koch's designteam in Helmond, the Netherlands. Peter Horbury designed interiors.
@@Wuppie62 that is what Steve Harper says, he was bringing the 440/460 to production and was involved with the cabriolet. The story told here is starting around 1986, when 480 production was starting (including the teething problems) and 440 was brought to production. In another interview, Harper told that the 460 was almost an afterthought and came later.
What is completely missing in this story that the 400 series design was based on the Renault 9.
Love the 480 looks amazing the C30 was it's spiritual successor
I love the C30, especially the rear.
I wish they made the C30 polestar concept
Don't forget the P1800 was the 480's "spiritual predecessor".
*its. It's means it is.
My ex-wife looked good. Like a 480, she also started when she thought she would and retained water.
I love how the Volvo 480 is still relevant. As a Dutchman and Volvo-lover, this car makes me very proud and I very much wish to own one in the near future.
The Dutch have many, many things to be proud of. Alas, the 480 was not one of them. To be fair, I suppose the boot of one could significantly contribute to the Netherlands' flood defenses. Attracted enough water.
heb er een te koop staan😉😇
@@RandallSlick the bootfloor and the rear wheel wells are very prone to rust, everybody knows that. It's not even that bad, considering other cars of that era mostly had the same problem. It's also not what I mean when I say I'm proud of it, did you watch the video? 😋
@@h.t.holtland7204 helaas gaat het nu niet lukken om een auto te betalen, laat staan de maandlasten. Waarom doe je hem weg joh? Ga je spijt van krijgen!
@@diegohuijbregtsgarcia5102 heb er 2
As a 47-year old man who grew up in a family that drove pretty much Volvos including a 244DL saloon and two 240 estates plus a 440 I still love the look of the 480 and remember when they came out, really hoping that I could convince my mum and dad to get one. Still, all my band gear went in the 240....
My science teacher had one between 1993-1996 black 480 turbo I loved it. What a lush car for the time.
I used to work for volvo as a kid
Pitch washer .....i well remember tyem all !!!!
I had a volvo 340gl at one point, lovely amd smooth to drive slow and very skittish !!!!!!
@@chrishart8548 they were lovely looking them
@Fredrik Larsson I've said this before, but I'm sure whoever designed the classic estates must've played guitar in a band as you can get a Marshall 4x12" cab in there sideways, no problem 😄
Just picked up my Volvo RHD 480 Turbo Here in the United States!!!! Super excited!!!
Thats nice! Why RHD?
@@AVC-Works Well that what was only available especially in it's cindition. It's also an automatic so I figured try something different.
What a great video. The 480 was THE dream car of many russian kids although not many of them knew maintenance cost lol.
The dream of RUSSIAN kids?! That's nice to know! Good taste, those Russian kids!
@@rikalmekinders1916 well it was one of the cars painted on the enclosure of the "Turbo" chewing gum.
@@runoflife87 Was this in the Gorbatchew-period? Or after that?
@@rikalmekinders1916 as far as I remember, after. 1992-1995.
You had a lucky escape. It couldn't cope with a British summer, so I could only imagine it in a northern or eastern Russian winter. Very good looking car on the side of the road though.
I've not watched this yet but I'm just popping in to say that I miss my Volvo 480 so much and I imagine this video is going to make me miss it even more
I had one, wrote it off in the wet crashing into a roundabout at the bottom of a hill.
You should watch, it's a fantastic documentary. Do you miss the looks or the engineering? I ask out of simple curiosity.
oh yes !
I'm a Volvo fanatic so greatly appreciate this brilliant addition. I own a 2014 V40 and can see styling a blatant throwback in the black boot lid. I also have a close friend who has an anniversary 480, such special cars.
Thank you for for all you do.
@dear sir Matt. I ve inquired. You are not in the files. Stop labeling yourself as Volvist
(Swedes and this brand strike me as beancounters, and what do they like? Databases)
A family member of me worked for years at the R&D center of Volvo in Helmond the Netherlands. The benchmark was the Mercedes Benz 190 W201. They bought 2 brand-new 190 cars. The Mercedes dealer was around the corner. One car was taken completely apart. If you take a closer look at the A pillars and windscreen of the 400 and the 190 you will see similarities. The 480 was special developed for the US market. In Helmond area there were some 480 cars driving with red rear side markers en a different bumper to fit a US licenceplate.
The car had only one lifter to keep the hood up. It saved 50.000 guilders a year using only one instead of two. A convertable targa is also made. Even brochures are printed of the 480.
This cabrio was scrapped because there was no money to make due to the drop of the US dollar.
yes, that killed the project.
I've owned about 7 or 8 480's over the last 18 years, they have been largely unloved so it's interesting to see people starting to take notice of them. I currently own a low mileage '92 Turbo but have also had a GT, Celebration, S, ES, a light blue Turbo and a black Turbo. Safe to say that I'm a fan 😂
Any advice for someone who wants one but doesn't know what to check before buying ?
@@julienbee3467 480 Europe owners club is a good place to join. The biggest problems these days will be corrosion, mostly around the rear arches and sills and in some cases front subframe and mounts. Mechanical parts and service parts are cheap and plentiful, only a small number of obscure parts are obsolete. Spacious, good to drive and unusual. Get one 😁
@@paulmurphy9151 I like the design of this car a lot. Great car to go to the beach :) I heard that headlights get open and switch on by themselves sometimes, don't know if it happened to you
Thank you for covering this. I fell head over heels in love with the 480 when my Dad bought a 440 in about 1990. I eventually bought a 480 myself and it's still one of my favourite cars that I have ever had. I really wish I hadn't sold it!
I had a second hand 480ES and absolutely loved it, the looks, the ride and the engine. You're right about the electrics though.. I only occasionally had a functional fuel gauge and the window on the driver's side jammed open one day. Then the struts on the glass boot lid gave way as I was loading the now comedy car, and then, grand finale, the clutch pedal disappeared into the bulkhead as I was changing down approaching a roundabout 20 miles from home. A stressful clutchless journey ensued,and I later sold my 480 to an eccentric Frenchman who got arrested for driving it drunk whilst on a ban for drink driving. Happy days! I replaced it with a classic Saab 900i which was way simpler and had fewer problems. Still a place in my heart for the 480.
Glad to see this episode show up, thank you! The first car I owned as a teenager in 2005 was a Volvo 460, I loved the combination of the lazy 1800cc, light weight en great low seated comfort. To bad these cars rotted away fast.
When I was a penniless student, I so wanted a 480 1.7 turbo. Anyone else feel the 480 and the old Accord Aerodeck look very alike?
yes - both very cool loking cars!
Reminds me of Pontiac sunbird
I agree. That Aerodeck is a nice looking car.
I drove a red 480ES in the 90s. Loved it.
Nothing like it even today.
This has been a proper trip down memory lane for me.
I drove a red 480ES too. With the catalyst blown out, it could go really fast...Really strong cars that would run forever....
Shame I can only give it one thumb up, this deserves five!!!
Reminds me of the early days of youtube where we rated the video by stars, five to be the max. So the final result took percentage. And sure enough there was the new wave of kids who liked to be a burden and started to abuse that system to the point almost all popular videos had one star or half a star rating. Later we got likes. Then disslikes which once again can be abused too. Luckly we have the option to turn off votes but that comes with a penalty for the channel. Can't win youtube over no matter what we do...
Seriously, did you ever drive one, or own one? Two years of hell my friend. Bitter and expensive scars nearly 30 years on.
Another hit. That's a row of my favourite cars that you've covered. Thanks! Brew break time in this garage!
I fond it to be a horrible car unconftable in the back if the front passenger had the window down it had a weird painfull inflating underlaying effect the power steering used to carry on steering in to a corner after you stop putting input in had low down grunt but was not fast and had constant ealectrcal faults including the head light's not piping up
There are Allegro fans out there as well.
I started work in a Volvo dealership in 1989 and on one test drive of a 480 out with a customer, they noted a sound like water sloshing about, which I put down to the quietness of the car meaning they were probably hearing the fuel in the tank (as if lol, I knew exactly what the issue was likely to be - rear tailgate seal!). Once they had left, I went back out to the car and found enough water gathered under the boot carpet in the base of the space saver spare wheel well to keep a large volume of goldfish.
Thank you so much for this complete documentary. My father was on the management team, working on getting the 400 in production. Many things mentioned are familiar to me, as are some of the names of the key people mentioned.
I remember that the performance of the turbocharged engines was limited to the amount of torsion the crankshaft could take. An additional problem of having a 400 estate was the way the 200 estates were used. You could almost have any weight in them. The 400 would not have held up. I remember this was one of the reasons not to have one. I am impressed you even included toncar’s estate attempt. They were just a Volvo dealer one village away from where we lived.
Thanks for the well made documentary. It brings back good memories of my deceased father.
Glad you enjoyed it Pieter. Your dad did a wonderful job!
The real competitor of the 480 was the Honda Accord Aerodeck, also introduced in 1985. The Aerodeck also never made it to the USA. Both are cars I'd like tot own today.
One of the best Volvo 400 series videos so far! The interview with Steve Harper is great.
I'm in touch with both Rob Koch and John de Vries about the history of the 480 (I have one myself) so I've enjoyed this interview very much. Thank you!
Please send me a link to it when you're done - it would be interesting to see!
@@BigCar2 well I can tell you the start of the story...
"In the beginning there was the Renault 9" ;)
@@volvo480 that is true for a fact! And, the first Renault 9 drove in reverse of the trailer, the driver put on the handbrake.... and the rear axle collapsed from underneath it.....
It's wonderful to get a story of the car which is arguably my formative car! I do though have one note to the criticism of the turbo version: It was very intentionally not that much faster on the 0-60 or top speed or higher in Bhp; it was competing against SAABs and thus what this turboing did (once again done with the help from Porsche and Bosch) was improce low to mid range torque and eliminate the lag that almost all other turbo engines from this era suffered from. This turbo was meant for swift and secure overtaking on single-carriage highways, which is ALL of Sweden.
15:10 that looks so much like a Honda Civic.
So true! I used to own a 1990 Civic, and nearly everyone I knew thought it was a 480!
As a publicity stunt from Volvo Denmark, the Danish Crown prince Frederik was handed a 480 free of charge.
Don’t know how much he used it.
Same in Spain with then Prince Phillip. He used it quite a lot during his University period.
Great vlog as always! The 480 reminds me of the Honda Civic at the time.
Pretty sure the later S40 and V40 (briefly shown at the end of the video) shared a lot of body and underpinnings with the Mitsubishi Charisma
I think you're right, but the worst named car ever was spelled "Carisma"....
You are correct. The S40, V40, Carisma, and the Space Star were all built in the NedCar factory in Born.
Indeed, also used a mitsubishi petrol engine... which was atrocious.
@@defaultname25 You are atrocius
Growing up as a kid in the 90's I was used to boxy Volvo's and whenever I saw a 480ES I was always blown away.
I'd love to own one now, they're *definitely* going to be a future classic!
Thanks for the video! My 460 cost me about £400 in 2010 and I got a good few years out of it before I upgraded.
My first car was a 1992 Volvo 460 Turbo. Quite equipped model for its age, loved it!
Another awesome video! Brilliant that you were able to get Steve involved aa well, really adds another dimension with a 1st person perspective. ❤
How awesome that you got to interview Steve Harper! Great video.
What I always loved about the 480 was that it had a certain Citroën-esque quirkiness to its design (notably the low-mounted logo-grille positioning) packaged in a car with a BMW-style sporting aura. Truly individual. A genuine classic!
Never talk about it but wait for that video for a long time.
Great job!
These were a paradigm shift from the large box estate cars of yesteryear & I love the coupe 😊👍
I love your videos for immense and on CZcams mostly unheard of attention to detail. As a volvoniac I know what's what and for example when you're talking about 1991's launch of 850, the picture is of a car with corresponding bigger headlamps. Not many viewers will notice, but for me it's pure pleasure to see that.
As usual, FANTASTIC!!!!! While I knew about this vehicle for decades through photos and a Matchbox version circa 1986, and knew somewhat about the DAF connections, I never knew the full story. Absolutely marvellous! Thanks, BC!!!!
Love the shape of the 400 series, a real slap in the face to the traditional box on wheels approach and the lovely shapes can still be seen in Volvo cars to this day so this was a real ground braking time for them.
Very enjoyable and informative. A great series to complement a feet-up, dressingowned Saturday morning coffee.
Absolutely fantastic video (with interview !!!) on one of my all time favourite cars 👍👍👍🇸🇪
Volvo management's reluctance to allow an estate of the smaller 400-series is strongly reminiscent of British Leyland's reluctance to allow the Allegro and Princess to be an hatchbacks in case they sucked sales from the Maxi. This seems to be based on a reality-denying belief that people choose a manufacturer first and then decide which model to have.
Imagine a 480 Estate. That would have looked great. And so much more capacity for water in the boot from the leaking seals. Could have taught children to swim back there.
Fantastic video! Loved Steve's input too! Keep up the great content 👏
This is another fabulous marque history. Kudos! I think it's of special interest to those of us enthusiasts in the U.S. who were sadly denied these cool little cars. I would sure love to see you do a story on the Fiat 128. That was a pretty pivotal car in automotive history. Regardless of what's next, I will keep coming back.
I haven't seen it yet, but thank you for the video.
I'm sure I will enjoy it.
Thanks again.
This is so brilliant! The interview too, so so good. I love this car :)
Fantastic video, the interview with Steve Harper was very insightful, I learnt a lot of new things from it. Thoroughly enjoyed! :D
Thanks Ruariridh. I just rewatched your 480 video, and realised I totally missed talking about Volvo BV's transformation into the Nedcar.
A fantastic video especially with the Steve Harper interview. I've always had a soft spot for the 480 but you can never unsee the upside down Volvo below the number plate.
I had a 440 GLT back in the day and I wish I could get it back.
It was one of the best cars I ever had.
I even started a trend back in my village because it was amazing how many people got one because of me.
Thanks for the memories!!!
The Steve Harper interviews are fabulous! A great video. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video, I have fond memories of the 480 coupe, and I think it still looks good today. I may be the only one, but the convertible 480 concept had a look of a TR7 DHC. Thank you again for posting.
Love your YT channel; thanx for sharing.
You’re welcome John
Finally the car I own on the channel, very interesting 😁
I’m a fan of Volvo. Really liked the interview. Another great piece. Thanks 🇸🇪 🇳🇱
I nicknamed my 480GT 'the driving aquarium' ... ice-scraping the windows on the inside during winter was a common activity. 😅 Loved the engine and loved driving it, supreme handling and comfort. ❤
I had a 240 and a 480 once. The 240 I wish I’d kept hold of. The 480 was like a submarine.
Nah, submarines are waterproof
I love my 480 GT though
This video is educative and also is my favourite car! Thanks Big Car!
My pleasure Costi
Seriously: the videos you make have such a high quality that binges us to watch - even though Volvo didn’t sell any 400 series here in Brazil!
Glad you’re enjoying them!
I have to wipe away a little tear. A black 480 turbo (with '80-s red stripes) has been the best car I ever bought. Sadly all plastic parts in the interior got brittle to an unworkable degree (like no more release button for the safety strap). All the rest of the car remained solid, and I gave it away to an enthousiast with more time on hands.
Great video, I am so glad you got to do an interview with Steve Harper, you really did the car justice!
It was cool to chat with him!
actually...John de Vries did the work. As Steve said, his contribution was the bottom feeder grill. The diagonal stripe above the bumper was criticized by him as a 'bow tie'...
@@ryeshyes2552 Yes I am aware that John did the majority of the work, I have just finished reading a fantastic book on the car made by some enthusiasts with all the testimonials, it seems Harper came in to finalise the production design and tweak it, after De Vries had left Volvo
The 480 is a (not so fast) classic and I also liked the 460 at the time. It looks good in real life. That did however not keep me from forgetting about it for years. Thanks for the reminder!
I've a 480 Turbo, it weighs about 1000kg. Standard is 120bhp, a simple ecu remap with no hardware mods gives 165-170bhp. It's a pretty quick little car 😁
@@PaultheMurf Ah, then it should be able to leather off my Citroën XM Turbo CT. It "only" has 150 bhp and weighs approx. 1500 kg. That should make it closer in practical erformance to the original 480 I gues but is still rather sufficient as far as I am concerned. :-)
Excellent. I had a 460 and I loved it. Comfortable and economical, it was also pretty quick for this corner of southern Europe. Another top notch video!!
Great video. Loved my 1995 440, my first new car and worth the wait. Despite the lukewarm reception from motoring journalists at the time, the revised Phase 2 cars ('93-'97) were well-sorted and offered great value for money. Comfortable, safe, tough and reliable. I would say though that they were more of an Escort/Golf/Astra than a Sierra/Passat/Cavalier rival. Maybe they covered both? Similar price to a Honda Civic or Mazda 323, which I also considered.
Wonderful to see a new video about the 480
A well researched report 👍
A jump back into the late 80ies 😻
480 is my dream car. Particularly the celebration edition
I totally agree, it was a very cool car and it is still nowadays. Especially the last refined versions are really nice!
I agree, I see the new Volvo's and think meh
@@KT-ur7pi my parents have had a few, and currently have a b4 XC40. They are all lovely but the 80’s Volvos were the best.
@@benm6862 all the 480 in red needed was a fin on top and hey presto Captain Scarlett's Spectrum Saloon, and the 745 T5 was a design classic imho, pure unadulterated brick, and with it's ability to chill a motorcyclist heart at 400 yards, mine included l've pinned into my hall of fame for scarry cars just behind the Blues Bothers Delta house "Eat Me" parade float disgusting the Deathmobile.
Excellent video as always! 👍✨🏆
I had 480 turbo loved the looks fell out of love when the heater matrix brurst then fell out scalding my legs and feet did well in the crash test through the wall seconds after
Still one of my favorite cars ever! they were the most mean machine in top cars here in PT alongside the Honda CRX.
BTW: 15:06 beautiful specimen spoted in Lisbon! xD
Great idea to bring in an interview to your review Andy, this fits really well with your vids.
Glad you enjoyed it Ben
As always ,thank fpr sharing ,i enjoy your videos,stay safe God bless.😁
P1800 one of the most beautiful cars ever! Excellent video.
Absolutely fabulous looking car 🤩
Stunning design still looks modern now ,electrical issues plagued them but I would still have one....👍
Crikey I remember these and loved them, surprised not to see a single one on the road now sadly.
Nice video again. An episode on the Alpha Romeo 33 would be nice.
Great video that brought back so many childhood memories - my parents had a 440, and after they divorced, my father had the 480. Great cars, good quality, comfortable and quite luxurious for their time. The 440 was of course just a boring family hatchback, but it did its job, but the 480 was really awesome. Sure, its design got a mixed reception when launched, but I always found it pretty cool, and is has also aged rather well and still looks rather dynamic. Shame that it never got the sporty engine it deserved, with more power and sportier driving it certainly would have been a strong Honda Civic and Golf GTI competitor.
Owned a 480 Turbo as my first self-bought car, and yeah it was really great! Compliments from rear Adult passengers as it worked really well as a 2+2. I keep forgetting that Lotus had a hand in the 480's suspension (not sure about the other 400 series?) and I was lucky to move onto that brand soon after. Another great video, thanks!
I don't understand how someone can put thumb down for such content. The 480 is very exclusive looking and probably my favourite Volvo, despite its problems with electricity. It's the pop-up headlights and the grille placement. The cabrio version looks spot on and I can see some similarities with Renaul 19 Cabrio there. I really enjoyed the direct word from the Steve and I will watch the interview too (not only because I am a Ford person and I want to know more about the famous Cosie).
Thank you
You’re welcome Jirka!
Thanks for your wonderful video.
DAF trucks were awesome, I remember seeing the 80's and 90's trucks in the rally and how cool they looked
Yesterday I checked if you already uploaded a new video. Glad you did today
There will be a new one on the Little Car channel in a couple of days. Another TV car history.
Thanks.
I only disagree with the fact you say the 2019 v40 is an estate. In my humble opinion it's more of an hatchback vw golf rival
@@denniz1990 Fair comment. When I saw the photo in the final edit I had a similar opinion.
Volvo has always had a little bit of a wild side. The marvellous 262C and the P1800 spring to mind, as well as the 480 and the very strange P1900.
I loved the 480 as a kid. Probably that's the main reason I drive a C30 2.0 R-Design today!
Wow what great insight into this car. Your best video yet in my opinion. Cheers from USA 🇺🇸
Thx
Oh boy! Takes me back to when I owned a white 480 turbo in the early 2000's. A really underated car!
School boy me couldn't work out the placement of the 480 grill. It looked like such an after thought. I came to the conclusion that they had to put it somewhere so they put it there. Seems I was right.
Love seeing some interviews in this series!
I only got this one because Steve had been leaving comments on my other videos!
I had a metallic green or peacock I think was the official volvo colour, 440 facelift from 1994 as my first car. Bought with 50,000 odd miles on the clock in 2001. This was the 1.8 single point fuel injection. Basically a stroked version of the 1.7 - with the 2.0 crank but same bore. Fuel economy wasn't too bad. 45mpg was achievable on a motorway run. Low to mid 30's around town. If you went much past 80mph it was out of the torque band and would have a significant drop in mpg. It was quite torquey off the line. It was written off twice (both not my fault!) as beyond economical repair - it wasn't if you didn't renew the whole side of a car for a silly bend in the rear quarter for example. It had a clutch in it, around 115,000 miles after I had a driveshaft seal fail and knacker the gearbox, alongside the usual service items - brakes, various suspension bushes etc. Gearbox was cheap to repair by that point with a trip to the scrap yard. The only other real problem I had in it was the single fuel injector packed up around 110,000 and basically leaked fuel in to the intake making it run very very very rich. Eventually the tin worm in the sills got too much for it in 2008. The rest of it was starting to get very edgy including the rear arches. At which point it had around 175,000 miles on it. It wasn't the worlds best handling car, but it was safe and predictable with decent tyres on it. It was a great value car, and served me well.
The 460 Turbo was my first own car in 1991. Was really fun to drive! :-)
A great video! I had never seen the 480 coupe but I have to say what a beautiful car! I always loved the P1800 estate and as a result I really appreciate the 480!
Love the interview with the designer, another quality video.
I always wanted a 480 but it just never made it to the U.S. as far as I know. Interesting car with interesting provenance.
Thus far, every suggestion I've made has been done 🙂
I'd like to see the reliant story next/soon.
Everything from the 3 wheeled regals and robins, to the schimitars and other GRP products they've made for other manufacturers over the years
As I do random videos that interest me, you've been very lucky! I have thought about doing the Reliant story, but the last Reliant video I did didn't do well, so I'm reticent.
Thanks for that video.
I was driving many different cars, among which were many Volvos...
I had 2 different 480ies, one 480 Turbo and some time later a 480 ES with 109 HP. they were 2 of the best cars I've ever had. What a pity that era is gone..
I wish they actually made the convertible 480
I think this is the best episode ever, but I'm prejudiced as a Dutch guy. But I really enjoyed the combination of you thorough research and the inside information of the designer. Nowadays people are very approachable by LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. so I hope this feature will return in future episodes. A big thumbs up to Big Car! Will watch the complete interview later. Time for weekend and wine now!
Mmmm wine...
Glad you liked it. I might approach others, we'll see.
Ok, confession time, I owned a 480 ES in the 90's and can only say one thing Andy. You are wrong sir, the electronics were excellent and simple, the drive from the alleged 109 BHP put my RS2000 Mk5 to shame, the handling around the Welsh hill was excellent, the style was far better than given credit for, the car, as a whole, was brilliant and to be honest i've missed it every day since it was part exe'd for a bloody crappy BMW
I believe they fixed the electrical issues (which may have only be prevalent on some cars) in the first 12-18 months of the car, so later 480s would have been more reliable.
@@BigCar2 Yep. Ironing out the bugs. It's amazing what can slip through the R&D process. If buying an all-new model, it's good if you can resist the temptation to get one until they've been in production for, say, three months when the first of the big whoopsies have been discovered and the solutions have found their way to the line.
I had 2 480s, 2 960s, 3 740s, and a 240 - I was a kind of Volvo nut for a while - I also had a SAAB 9000 and a 9-5 too after trying a Vauxhall Cavalier
the 440 was the first car I bought. Loved it. Passed every MOT, never failed to start (even in winter)
Unfortunately my biggest and most vivid memories of my 480 were draining the water out of the spare wheel well every time it rained.
That was a problem on pre 1993 480s. Caused by leaky tail lights
Thanks for the video on the 480 series! As an owner of a 480 from 1994, I can say its a fun car to drive although not so sporty by todays standards.