A 1980s Volvo as a race car? Ok, that’s not too unique…we’ve seen plenty of these Swedish bricks flying through the woods as rally cars. But one set up as a touring car, that’s something else entirely and that’s what caught our eye here. The car itself is a Volvo 240 Turbo, running a 2.0L mill, a Getrag dog-leg-first gearbox, and the usual tips and tricks that differ a standard road car from a 1980s Group A touring car. The driver is John Bowe, and he is the wheelman that fought to make this Volvo work on the circuits. You’ll notice in the videos that he seems to be welcoming an old friend, but that wasn’t quite the case if you look back on the testy history this Volvo has. Bowe first met the Volvo in mid-1985 when New Zealand driver Mark Petch invited Bowe onto the team. The mechanical carnage that ensued was decidedly un-Volvo like: dead alternators, completely seized rear axles, engines that would jump time, or otherwise would fail in a way that would keep the 240 from being competitive in the touring car world. You’d imagine then that Bowe wouldn’t be too thrilled to see this old frenemy after all these years, but good or bad, you remember the ones you went into battle with, and Bowe and this Volvo battled some of the heavyweights in the Australian Touring Car circuits. Check it out below:
