Volvo’s R badge was originally intended to change the public’s perception on Volvo. While being known for safety is a great branding achivement by itself, it wanted people to know that Volvo is just not all about boring old safety. Thus the R badge was born, first born by the 850 T5 R and later continuing on the new S60 R and V70 R.
The new generation R duo featured turbocharged engines making 300 horsepower, and went from 0 to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds, putting all those 300 horses to the ground through a Haldex all-wheel-drive system.
While Volvo’s R badged vehicles were delicious beasts to begin with, sales figures did not meet expectations. Annual sales targets were set at 3,800 for the S60 R and V70 R, but only managed to hit 1,098 S60 R and 528 V70 R in 2006. Thus the R badge will be dropped beginning 2008 onwards, but Volvo intends to cook up more performance versions in the future, just without the R badge.
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
the previous V70R is superlicious! but never reach our shores… that time(2years ago) my desktop are V70R(in titanium black) picture! Damn cool!
i think its a TRUE car! (for me!)
i love V70 very much! from LPT to HPT till the extreme R!
but the price and rarity keep an average joe away…. sigh!
my mom after crashed her 740 turbo & upgraded 2 850. but after we know a used unit of 850 t5 r, she trade in & own it. it was a dream at 1st, but later, dont know y the dashboard bend out. may b due 2 the high temperature. the turbo not as efficient anymore. need more petrol 2 push & very thirsty. later trade in 4 a used s60t5.
dropping the 'R' version is something like you want to be in a slower car.
why you do that?
its like dressing gwen stefani in a baju kurung. its not fun anymore. it is boring.
aiks… dashboard bend ???? couldnt imagine that to happen on a continental makes…..???
thirsty are very well known on Volvo!
i think the reason is very clear, obviously, the "R" brand isn't working with the kind of customers volvo have. those sales numbers are actually quite low.
Another reason could be, that true performance enthusiasts are not fooled by the "R" branding, and still see the cars as just a powerful "volvo" and nothing much else.
Perhaps they need to do something more to give the "R" significance? Like Honda's Type Rs. When you think of it, you think of better engines, suspensions, bodykits, performance bits, lightweight stuff, and less fuss in the interior. Just something to make it break away from the usually family or executive looking Volvos.
drM… dressing Gwen Stefani in a baju kurung… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Maybe to attract a more wholesome group of buyers than Civic Type-R upgraders
every car deserve to have this, r, opc, amg, m, r3(oops) ,abarth, etc..
regardless how much peformance they put into,maximum or minumum,
its a piece of excitement in automotive world
DrM & DtG,
Gwen Steffani would looks even more delicous with baju kurung! Kinda like real wolf in sheep clothing…
Anyway I agree with protonGL. My opinion is that it is one way of attract real pertolheads to consider to buy them, even if they are not in their wish list in the first place. A letter or two (plus some improvement in looks & power) to differentiate them from the garden-variety would be a good way to boost interest, and not to mention to boost their exclusivity & future value.
May be the letter 'R' is a little bit overkill for a volvo. Then, they should consider other letter(s)… which is less 'provocative'.
The R series in the Volvo is actually very respected models. Its a dream to own, and to add to that dream, Volvo brought in just a handful or so units for our shores.
Before the Audi quattros comes into play in the BTCC, Volvos 850Ts were dominating the scene. They are fast and furious cars..(* of that era ofcourse).
maybe people think "R" means fast, fast means dangerous, dangerous means not a volvo?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! !! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
since Audi no longer wants understated styling….. Volvo's the last resort…………………… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
DOES EVERY CAR NEED TO LOOK LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU TO SELL ?
hope to have some magic in their "R" …….
volvos are safe tough cars.new generation of cars also look stylish compared to the boxy old models.but as a performance car the cornering and handling can't match the BMW's or Audi's.
second hand units are relatively cheap to buy compared to other premium brands but beware as parts and repairs can be an expensive affair.
No lah, its just that Volvo has built up a great reputation on their safety and comfort features that nobody takes them seriously about performance because it has become so stereotyped that way.
Volvo has at least shown that they can pull off 0-100km/h in 5.4 seconds and that is good enough for me. The target psycho-graphics are more likely to choose it for their safety rather than performance. Most of the time you see moms and dads buying these sort of cars.
0-100km/h in 5.4 secs, nearly M5 and M6 territory. Pretty darn impressive if you ask me.
i think 0-100km/h in 5.4 secs says nothing much about a cars overall performance nowadays.
gwen in baju kurung…. hmmmm…
yea, i got a fetish for chicks in baju kurung, so sue me..
True a lot of cars can achieve 0-100km/h in 5 seconds or so but what sort of cars are those? People fail to realize this is just a family sedan/station-wagon. The M5/M6/Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution/Jaguar/Insert whatever you like are tuned sports cars from the parent manufacturer.
People also have not taken weight into consideration as I'm sure these things are not light in anyway but the other competing models in the 5 seconds range have had some sort of diet program like the Evo had the carbon fibre roof and the M5 and M6 that also had something similar in the weight shaving dept.
lmao.. i didn't even know there was the R performance for Volvos.. xD
cbljkkj, isnt an "R" badged volvo also essentially a "tuned sports cars from the parent manufacturer."
there are also the subaru wagons, as well as the audi 'super' wagons..
The 850 T5R is the fastest/quickest wagon in the world when it was launched. These things were quick, and un-restricted.
Once, many many moons ago, a E36 328 owner got to find out rather embarasingly just how quick these are on the highway, and that was just a regular T5. Those days the 850 T5 was still a "new" model and rather inconspicuous.
The niche category of sport wagons was born due to the popularity of the 850 Wagon.
Been shopping around for a good used 850 T5 but since this is a buyer's market, I really dont have a rush to get one.
hondadriver:
I was merely trying to draw a line between a super-car in its own right and a super saloon/wagon.
I am aware that cars like the Subaru Forester and Audi Avant Wagons. My uncles got a Forester himself.
anyways, despite weight saving measures, the M5 and M6 are still pretty hefty cars in the weight dept. more than 1.5 tons.
on another note, i dont think an E36 328i is a good comparison with an 850T5. the 328i only makes 193hp.
The V70R is also a hefty beast weighing in at 3646 pounds but the point i would like to stress is that it is only utilizing a turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder 300 hp/295 lb-ft engine and cars like the M5 use 5 litre 507hp V10.
is it v70r dash to 100kmh, in 7.4 sec, ?
Volvo S60R 0-100km/h Manual Transmission: 5.7secs
Volvo V70R 0-100km/h Manual Transmission: 5.9secs
Volvo S60R 0-100km/h Auto Transmission: 7.5secs
Volvo V70R 0-100km/h Auto Transmission: 7.7secs
My family has been using volvo for more than a decade. Starting from 244, 240 GLT(1990-91),740 Turbo Intercooler (1991-2003: brought from UK), 940GL (1997), 940 Soft Turbo (2001-2002), 940 Turbo (2002-2005), S70 2.5 (2002-03), V70 2.0T (2003-05), S70 2.0T (2004-currently) till S80 2.0T(2005-currently).
well, rite now i m looking for a V70 T5..since u guyz are talking about "R", i was wondering…is there any V70 R around here?? i have no idea…
did see red 850 R ,hard to spot here ,yearsss ago. excites me
interestingly 240 TURBO, is by R-Sport, see it stamped on the seat,
was that it?