John and James Young's White and Red, 1982, Volvo 242 Turbo, in the National Pit lane, during the 2022 Silverstone Classic
Despite its non-sporting image, the Volvo 240 was a successful competitor in touring car racing in the 1980s. In 1983 Volvo produced 505 evolution version of the 240 Turbo with a larger turbocharger and other performance modifications. All of these special cars were exported to the United States with the special equipment kit in the trunk of each car. 270 of these cars were retrofitted with the special equipment at Long Beach and further 240s were simultaneously fitted with the same kit on the East Coast at the Volvo Penta facility at Chesapeake Bay. All 500, except for one car which was returned to Sweden, were subsequently stripped of their GpA homologation equipment and sold as standard road cars. This was allowed under the Group A regulations, the cars only having to have been made and not necessarily sold. Nevertheless, it did lead to protests from other teams, until Volvo was able to produce proof that the 500 cars had indeed been manufactured Nevertheless, the 240 Turbo proved a successful competitor, and in 1984 won the Zolder round of the European Touring Car Championship. In Group A racing form, the 240T weighed 1,065 kg (2,348 lb), and its turbocharged litre engine produced approximately 350 bhp (261 kW; 355 PS). Although it was a big car and lacked the agility of some of its competitors, and despite its boxy, un-aerodynamic appearance, it was fast in a straight line (approximately 260 km/h (162 mph) on faster circuits such as Monza, Hockenheim and Bathurst) and proved to be reliable. Volvo Motor Sport, VMS, did not run the cars directly, instead contracting the services of established teams to prepare and manage them, with technical assistance from VMS.
Size: 5208px × 3744px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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